Rise of the Phoenix
by Gypsy Druid
Summary: After the Sunnydale Collapse, Sam Carter finally discovers the truth about her daughter, Elizabeth. However, that truth is about to be changed.
1. Prologue

Disclaimers:

I own nothing and no one. Therefore, no profit has been or will ever be made from this story. 'Nuff said.

Spoilers: None, well maybe a little of if you haven't watch either show. If you have, then you'll recognize the episodes. If you haven't, then it won't matter anyway. Takes place after the collapse of Sunnydale (Buffy) and the battle over the Atlantis Outpost (SG-1). O'Neill is still in the sleeping chamber and Carter has been promoted to Colonel and given command of SG-1. Anubis is dead and his Lieutenants have taken control divided his armada and territories.

Rated: 18, possibly 21. Things are bound to happen in this story that are not for tender eyes. If this describes you, don't read it.

Anything I've missed (disclaimer related) I can't think of it at the moment, but it still applies.

Special Thanks to IceFlame55. He's not only the best beta-reader I've had the opportunity to work with, but he practically helped me write the story. At least half the credit goes to him.

Rise of the Phoenix

By Gypsy Druid

Prologue

'Something bad is coming.' Buffy thought, not for the first time, as she patrolled through Sunnydale. Every night she saw that more and more houses looked abandoned. Something bad _was_ coming. So bad that even Sunnydale's uber-strong sense of denial wasn't, for lack of a better word, strong enough, and the people were hauling ass out of town at an ever growing rate. 'God, soon there's not going to be anybody left. Even the demons are running.'

Sighing, she made her way home. As she approached the gate, her sensitive hearing picked up the sound of unfamiliar voices, and one voice that was as familiar as her own. She hurried up the drive with a huge smile. "Giles."

She walked into the house, the backed out to make sure it was her house. Yep, it was her house. So why was it filled with teenagers?

"Giles?" Buffy shouted over the noise. "Dawn?"

"Buffy." Giles greeted, coming out of the kitchen. "Dawn went to the store with Willow."

Buffy could barely hear him. As soon as he appeared, the girls began bombarding him with questions, each trying to be heard over the others. "All right! Everyone SHUT UP!!!"

There was instant silence, then a brunette pushed herself to stand in front over Buffy, obviously trying to intimidate the shorter blonde. "Who are you, and what makes you think you can tell us what to do?"

Buffy was almost amused by the posturing. Almost. "I'm the owner of this house who's about to kick your ass out if you don't shut the fuck up."

"Kennedy, ladies, this is Buffy Summers, the Slayer." Giles introduced. "Buffy, this is Kennedy, Vi and Amanda. They're Potentials."

"Potential what?" Buffy asked.

"Slayers." Kennedy sneered. "We're the next generation."

"Something or someone is trying to kill them." Giles finally said when Buffy simply ignored Kennedy's presence.

"Gee, I can't imagine why." Buffy said sarcastically. "Cause she just inspires love and devotion wherever she goes."

"Kennedy, enough." Giles interjected when the girl opened her mouth to reply. "Buffy, can we speak in the kitchen. Privately." This last was said when the Kennedy moved to follow them. Vi and Amanda merely sat on the couch and turned on the television.

The Slayer and her Watcher walked into the kitchen, and out the back door after Buffy grabbed a bottle of water. "Giles, what is going on?"

"As I said, something or someone is trying to kill them. Something is trying to destroy both the Slayer line and the Watchers Council. The Council building in England was blown up a few days ago, as were several safehouses where Potentials lived and trained with their assigned Watchers. I've sent word through our channels for the remaining Watchers to track down what's left of the Slayer Potentials and send them here."

"Here? Why?"

"It was either send them to you or send them to Faith." Giles said reasonably. "And I don't think they really need to be introduced to the California Penal System just yet."

"This is a bad idea, Giles." Buffy told him, running a hand through her hair. "Something really, really bad is coming. Did you notice the empty houses around town? People are running, Giles, actually leaving Sunnydale. This is not a good place to bring people you're trying to keep safe."

"Maybe, but they will be safer here than anywhere else."

Buffy sighed. "What do you know?"

"Something has the Coven in Devon in an uproar. They were already looking into it when the Council Building blew up. It was they who warned me that the Slayer and Watcher lines were in danger. Alanna, the Head of the Coven, actually saved my life when someone tried to kill me in my apartment."

"Giles, we're back!" Dawn yelled before Buffy could respond. "We've got the basics, and Chinese."

Buffy smiled. "C'mon, Watcher-mine, let's get something to eat before it's all gone."

"Buffy, I got your favorite." Dawn greeted her sister. "You're too, Giles. There's extra fried rice and lo mien in those containers and egg rolls and fortune cookies in those." She told them, pointing to the indicated cartons. "Xander and Anya will be here in about an hour."

Everyone got their food and dug in. The Potentials, including Kennedy, wisely kept quiet. As Giles continued to fill Buffy in on what had been happening. When Xander and Anya arrived, Willow gave them the highlights.

"So, what do you want us to do, Buff?" Xander asked. "Sounds like you're about to have a full house."

"We need to make room for the people coming." Buffy began thoughtfully. "Dawn and I can clean out the attic. Willow and Anya can clear out the master bedroom, if you guys don't mind. Dawn and I will do our own rooms. You three get the basement. Xander, can you go to the mall and get some of sleeping bags?"

"Sure." Xander answered. "I've got an air mattress in my parents basement that Jesse used to use. I'll bring that too."

Buffy nodded. "We'll put everything in storage in LA except for the essentials. We don't know exactly how bad it's gonna get, but with people actually bailing on Sunnydale, I'd rather not take any chances. Will, Xander, you might want to think about cleaning out your places too, just in case. Giles, you call the Coven and see if they've found anything." Giles nodded, and Buffy finally turned her attention to the Potentials. "I'm telling you this now, and I'm telling it only once. I know what's in my basement, and what condition it's in. If anything is damaged or missing, you'll find yourselves waiting for whomever it is trying to kill you, in the ER. Got me?"

They nodded, even Kennedy after a small stare down where Buffy released her hold on the Slayer enough to make the girl swallow in fear.

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

"God, Buffy, when was the last time somebody was up here?" Dawn asked, waving a hand to dispel the dust that had exploded in her face when she yanked opened the top drawer of the file cabinet.

"Ice skates." Buffy answered, going through a trunk in the far corner.

"Oh, yeah." They had come up with their mother to pack away their ice skates when Hank had cancelled their trip to the Ice Show on Buffy's sixteenth birthday. When he also cancelled on Dawn's birthday and Christmas, the Summers women finally gave up on him. They accepted his apologies and rare phone calls, but no longer tried to make him a part of their lives. "Oh, my God, Buffy, look at this."

"What is it?" Buffy made her way over. Dawn didn't answer, instead handing her what looked like legal documents. Skimming over it, she looked up at her sister in shock. There were adoption papers for a newborn baby girl. Elizabeth Anne Carter. "I'm adopted?"

Dawn just stared, not knowing what to say. As Buffy sat on the floor reading through the forms, the silence became too much and Dawn turned back to the file cabinet to continued packing the papers. Finally, Buffy spoke. "Dawn, want to do me a favor?"

"Depends on the favor." Came Dawn's favorite response.

"Run this folder over to the Magic Box and make a copy of everything when you take that box down. I want to finish going through it, but I also want to get this stuff into storage."

"Actually, this is the last box of papers and small stuff, so can I just call it a day? We've been working all morning and it's almost four in the afternoon."

"I'm sorry, Dawnie." Buffy apologized, startled at the time. "I didn't realize it had gotten so late. How about this? We'll both call it and head out to the Magic Box with the others. I'll spring for pizzas and wings for dinner for everyone."

"I heard that." Xander's head popped up. "I was just coming to tell you that we were all quitting on grounds of inhumane working conditions. In other words, we're starving. Now, I'm going to give everyone the good news.

He was gone before either sister could respond. Hearing the cheers below, Dawn smirked at Buffy. "I guess that's our cue to get a move on, huh?"

"That would be a yes." Buffy smirked back.

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

At the pizza place, the separated into groups to accommodate the booths. The Scoobies, plus Anya, sat in one booth while Dawn and the Potentials sat a few booths away. From what Buffy could see and hear, Dawn was getting along well with Vi and Amanda, but Kennedy continued to hold herself aloof from the group.

"So, Giles, what's up with mini-Cordelia?" Buffy finally asked.

Xander snapped his fingers. "I _knew_ she reminded me of someone."

Giles sighed and removed his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Ah, yes, well Kennedy has led a rather privileged life. She could not be removed from her parents because her family had the resources, connections and influence to successfully track her down. Instead, her Watcher was integrated into the family's work staff. When her parents were killed, her Watcher continued to treat her with the respect due to her family name, and I'm afraid that has given her a rather elitist opinion of herself. Her Watcher constantly told her that she would be the 'Greatest Slayer in History' and she has taken it to heart."

"Well, she's going to find herself thrown off that pedestal she's put herself on real fast if she doesn't check that attitude."

"What do you have there, Buffy?" Willow asked, pointing to the folder and changing the subject.

"It turns out that I'm adopted. Dawn found these in Mom's file cabinet in the attic. I had her make a copy so I could read through it." Buffy answered quietly, opening the folder with one hand and grabbing a slice of pizza with the other. "Hmm, let's see. Samantha Elizabeth Carter, Colorado Springs, Colorado. From these letters, it looks like she and mom were best friends in college."

"Are you going to contact her? You don't have to tell her about being the Slayer."

Buffy thought about it for a long few minutes, then sighed. "Maybe after we take care of whatever's coming. I don't think apocalypses and emotional drama mix all that well."

Willow continued to look through the papers. "Buffy, she had shared custody of you. Not that it means all that much now, but she's still legally your mother. Do you want me to look her up?"

"Thanks, Will, but like I said, after we get this taken care of." Buffy accepted, then turned to her Giles. "So, Watcher-mine, did the Coven find anything?"

"Unfortunately, they did." Giles answered. "We seem to have found ourselves in battle with the First Evil..."


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

"Carter." Samantha Carter answered the phone, not looked away from the readings she was entering into her computer.

"Colonel, would you please come to my office." General Hammond requested.

"Yes, sir." Sam straightened unconsciously. "I'll be right there."

She hung up the phone and stared at it curiously for a moment. She still wasn't used to her new title. After the battle in Antarctica, President Hayes had paid a surprise visit to the SGC to personally promote Earth's heroes. She had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given command of SG-1, who had been grounded temporarily to give them time to recover from that last mission and give her time to find a fourth member. Even though he was still in stasis at the Atlantis Outpost, Jack O'Neill had been promoted to Brigadier General, and would be given command of the SGC when he awoke. General Hammond had been promoted to Major General, and would resume command of the Prometheus when O'Neill took command of the SGC. Janet had been promoted to Major and received a medal for nearly dying on P3X-666. Finally, she saved her data and left her office.

"Hey, Sam." Janet nearly collided with the blonde as she came around the corner. "I was just on my way to get you for lunch."

"Um, sorry, Janet." Sam apologized. "I'll have to meet you there. I just called to General Hammond's office."

"Is something wrong?" Janet asked, reversing direction and walking with her friend.

"No idea." Sam sighed. She rarely got called into the General's office and she couldn't help but be a little unsettled. "And that has me a little worried."

"Well, come to my office when you're done." Janet offered. "I'll bring something for you to eat."

"Okay, thanks."

The two friends split up at a hallway intersection. Sam got on an elevator and continued on to the General's office a few level down, going through various possibilities in her head. Knocking on the door, she waited for the summons before entering. Her confusion grew when she saw Major Davis. Usually Colonel O'Neill, _General_, she reminded herself, was brought in for anything serious enough to bring the Major to the SGC.

"Sir?" Sam asked.

"A situation has arisen that requires your attention." General Hammond stated. "I do not know the details myself, as Major Davis is under orders to discuss this only in your presence."

"Approximately 10 hours ago, a random satellite imaging test discovered that the town of Sunnydale, California was collapsing in on itself." Major Davis hand a copy of the photo in question to the General. The image showed the sunken section in the center of town, as well as buildings obviously collapsing. What caught the General's attention, however, was the body caught mid-jump between two buildings, heading for what looked like a school bus. Major Davis tried to hand one to Sam as well, but she had gone pale and was leaning weakly against the door.

"What?" She whispered in disbelief. "How? When?"

"Colonel Carter?" Hammond said, a little worried by her reaction.

"Recon was dispatched for verification, and have reported that the entire town is now nothing more than a large crater." Major Davis continued, taking not of her reaction. "What we could not find, however, was a cause. There has been no seismic activity in that area, nor is the town on any fault line or any underground instability. Through a nationwide search, we discovered that almost 95 of the townspeople had slowly evacuated, on their own, several weeks before the collapse, leading us to believe that they somehow knew, or at least suspected, that it was coming. During that search, however, a name red-flagged in our systems, which is what has brought me here today. Colonel Carter, do you have any idea why your daughter would be in our systems under Presidential Classification?"

"Is she all right? Did she make it out?" Sam asked frantically. "What about Joyce and Dawn?"

"I'm sorry, Sam." Major Davis flushed lightly. "I should have said so first thing. Buffy, her sister and her friends were all recently sighted in a bank in Los Angeles. As for the mother, Joyce Summers, she died a few years ago."

Sam sagged in relief, then her jaw dropped in disbelief. "Joyce is dead?"

Davis nodded. "According to the death records, she died of an aneurysm following the surgical removal of a malignant brain tumor."

Sam moved on shaky legs to collapse in one of the seats in front of the General's desk. Joyce had been her best friend when she'd found herself in college at the young age of 15. It was that reason that she'd trusted the woman with her daughter after Sam had found herself pregnant after a rare drunken one night stand following a badly botched mission that had nearly cost her and her team their lives when bad intel had them flying directly into an ambush. "Why wasn't I notified? I have shared custody of Buffy. And what about her ex-husband, Hank?"

"We are not sure. A notice was placed in her file, but for some reason, it never went any further than that. There is nothing listed for a Hank Summers. Ms. Summers had been supporting herself and her sister since her mother's death." Major Davis told her. "I'm sorry, Colonel, but I really must have the answer to my previous question before I divulge anything else."

Sam thought back until she recalled his earlier question. "No, I have no idea why she would be classified in a military database. Joyce kept me informed of the pertinent events in Buffy's life. She was accused of burning down her high school gym in LA and institutionalized. When I found out, I went to LA and tracked down some of the people who were there until someone finally admitted that they had been attacked by a gang in Halloween masks and Buffy started the fight back when she was attacked by the leader of the gang. She was cleared and released from the mental institution and soon after, Joyce divorced Hank and moved to Sunnydale with Buffy. The last letter I received from Joyce was to tell me that Buffy had graduated high school and started college."

"Did she give any explanation for the attack on the high school dance when she was institutionalized?"

Sam nodded. "Joyce told me that Buffy said she was approached by an Englishman and told that she was a mystical warrior called a Slayer. She told Joyce, Hank and the police that the dance had been attacked vampires and the Englishman had been killed by the leader, a Master Vampire named Lothos. After I got the confessions from the other students, she eventually retracted her story and admitted that her attackers may have been wearing masks."

Major Davis studied her closely for a few minutes, then began speaking again. "What I am about to tell you is under a need-to-know-only classification. Meaning, no one outside this room needs to know, not even the other members of SG-1. Is that understood?"

Both Sam and the General nodded.

"Colonel Carter, I have both good new and bad news regarding your daughter." The Major sighed. "The good news is that Buffy Summers is neither crazy nor a liar, nor has she ever been. The bad news, is that everything she admitted to which led to her institutionalization, had been the complete and honest-to-God, truth."

Sam looked confused for a moment, then paled. "What are you saying? That's impossible."

Major Davis shook his head. "Monsters are real. Demons are real. A war has been raging under the cover of darkness since the beginning of time and, according to our sources, your daughter has been fighting on the front lines for at least the last 7 years."

"No!" Sam denied vehemently after a moment of shocked silence. "What you're implying isn't possible. I read the report that Buffy gave. There is no way that the human body can revive from blood loss of that magnitude, nor can a person survive on blood alone. There is no way a body will burst into dust by stabbing a piece of wood into it's chest. There are no such things as demons, and there is no way a fifteen year old girl would be fighting a war on our own soil that the US government doesn't know about!"

Suddenly, Major Davis looked uncomfortable. "Well, unfortunately, that's not entirely true."


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

'_What do you want to do now?'_ Buffy thought about the question that had been asked of her outside of the crater that used to be the Hellmouth. At first, she had smiled, imagining the many possibilities that had been opened to her now that she wasn't the only Slayer. Then, reality had set in, and the smile faded. She had a busload of injured Slayerettes, as Faith had started to call them, no money and now, no home.

They had made their way to LA, intending to ask Angel if they could use the Hyperion, only to find that he had given the old hotel to a shelter group. So, they had ended up spending a day in a bank regaining control of their lost finances. Willow had finished first, because her parents traveled so often, they made sure that they could access their money when and where they needed it. Buffy and Xander had taken longer, but they had finally gotten access. While they were filling out the paperwork, Willow went gone online and rented one of the beachside houses, large enough to accommodate all of the new Slayers, and isolated enough to allow them to recover and regroup in peace.

It had been a week since the Hellmouth, and Sunnydale, was destroyed. A week since they had come to LA looking for some sort of sanctuary, to rest and recover, but still the wound she had received had not completely healed. Buffy stared out at the ocean from her seat on the back deck. The wound was worrying everyone, including herself, and her friends were determined not to let her do anything more strenuous than soak up the sun until she was back at 100. After a token protest, she relaxed and accepted the break she desperately needed. At the moment, Faith was out with a group of the Slayerettes on a short patrol, along with Giles and Robin Wood, Willow and Kennedy were on their first real date, and Xander and Dawn had taken the rest of the new Slayers to the movies.

Buffy stretched, and growled at the sharp pain in her back. It had been a week, and this wound, which should have healed completely in just a couple of days, was just now closing. Something was wrong with her. It had been since Willow had done the spell.

"You're right, Kid." Said a sad, soft voice with a Bronx accent. "This time, something really is wrong."

"Hello, Whistler." Buffy said, not bothering to look at the balance demon. "Can't say I'm all that surprised to see you. Or pleased."

"I know." He said. "This whole thing was a cluster-fuck from the beginning."

Buffy sat back and made herself a little more comfortable despite the pain. For the first time since they had met, there were no side jokes or off-kilter wisecracks from the Powers' mouthpiece, so she knew that this was possibly more than serious. "So why now? The PTB have never really been the explain-y types before."

"Two reasons. One, you're no longer going to be working for us. We're losing you so another agent." The balance demons voice lowered. "And two, we owe you an apology."

That startled Buffy. "An apology?"

Whistler nodded and turned away. "When the Powers' allowed the monks to insert Dawn into your life, they didn't foresee that the memory alteration would cause the tumor in your mother's brain to become malignant. They never meant for your mother to die when they sent the Key to you for protection."

Buffy's heart stopped. She couldn't breathe. Her mother's death was a _cosmic accident!_ Her rage was so sudden and so intense, that it took several minutes to suppress her desire to carry out her initial threat to rip out the demon's ribcage. Forcing breath back into her lungs, she repeated over and over to herself that they hadn't intended it. They hadn't intended it and they were actually apologizing for it. She counted to ten. In English, Sumerian and a few other languages she had picked up over the years until the roaring in her head subsided and the red haze dissipated from before her eyes. She swallowed hard, and forced herself past it. She would cry later, but now she needed the answers that he had.

"And the second reason?" Buffy's voice was so hoarse it was barely recognizable. "What do you mean, you lost me to another agent?"

"The battle with the First was inevitable. It had been since the beginning." Whistler told her. "The First is not simply the First Evil. It was the first truly evil demon. Virtually invincible, it was the most powerful, enslaving and slaughtering humankind and demons alike. Ironically, it was also the first demon to be banished from Earth. The demons banded together, and it took all of their combined powers to defeat it, destroy its corporeal body and cast it out. Since them, it has been fighting to get back, much like Glory."

"Okay, but what does this have to do with me?"

"You were never supposed to live past 16." Buffy's eyes widened in shock. "Your destiny was to die at the hands of The Master. You died, and the next Slayer was called, but then you were brought back. It sent ripples through the natural order of the universe. There is only supposed to be _one_ Slayer at a time. Now there were two, and the universe didn't know what to do with this abnormality. The abnormality created ripples of instability, and the First saw that it could use this to regain entrance into this world. Not corporeal entrance, because it no longer had a corporeal form, but enough to influence and create more ripples. The longer you lived, the stronger the ripples became, and the First manipulated everything it could to keep you alive.

"Didn't you ever wonder how you, a seventeen year old girl from California, a Slayer of only two years, could defeat Angelus, the most dangerous, most ruthless, sadistically evil vampire ever to walk the Earth since the Old Ones. Or how you managed to defeat the Mayor, who had already ascended. A man who had lived for centuries for that one moment in time. Or how you managed to defeat a Hell-Goddess that was virtually invulnerable and massively more powerful than you. Or even how the boy managed to calm down your gal pal Willow when she was consumed by the Dark Magick. The witch had not only absorbed the knowledge of the books, she absorbed the magick itself. That is why she is now the most powerful witch on the planet. A nudge here, a shove there and a whisper in a Wicca's ear and _voila_, all hail the victorious Slayer."

Buffy was pale. The sheer magnitude of what the balance demon was saying was overwhelming. "Are you telling me that every Big Bad we've beaten has been because of the First?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying." He shook his head quickly. "The First merely made it possible for you to win against the overwhelming odds. You had to do the actual winning yourself. You should be nothing but proud of what you've accomplished, no matter what."

"Why?" Buffy asked. "Why would the First be helping the good guys?"

"For the First, good and evil are relative, and irrelevant. Only Its desires are of any importance, and It desires to dominate all living things. Human, animal or demon, it doesn't matter. Complete and total chaos with It at the helm has always been The First's goal. The longer you lived, the worse the instability became. The worse the instability, the more of the First's essence could seep into this world and the stronger the First became. The only thing it didn't count on was you sacrificing yourself to save your sister."

Buffy snorted. "No one seems to have counted on that. I don't get that? Why would anyone think that I would let my little sister die?"

"Umm, because she's not really your sister?" Whistler pointed out.

"Yes, she is. The moment those monks inserted an entire life for her into our memories, she became my sister. For God's sake, Whistler, she's made from my flesh and blood! If it wasn't for the memories of her being my sister, I would be able to pass her off as my damn daughter. I risked the Ascension of the Mayor to save my best friend! Why wouldn't I risk everything to save my family?"

Whistler thought about that, and he suspected that the Powers were as well, and realized that she was right. With everything that they knew of the Slayer, and her devotion to those she loved, what she had done shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone who really thought about it. "You may have a point there, Kid. Anyway, moving on. When you died, the instability began to heal itself, and the First was stuck, so it had to get you back. A whisper in the Wicca's ear, a few nudges in specific directions, and your friend came to the conclusion that because you died a mystical death, you could be brought back without the nasty brain-eating side effects. Even the nightmares of you being in a Hell dimension were from the First. If you had been in a Hell dimension, you would have been _physically_ there, body and all. If the First had let up on the witch long enough for her to think about it, she would have even realized that you did not die by mystical means. Closing the portal didn't kill you, Kid, it was the crash landing on the ground below that did the deed."

"So, the spell shouldn't have worked?" Buffy realized.

"Sure it would have, but you would have been doing the whole brain-eating thing."

"Whistler." Buffy growled.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself." The demon chuckled. "If you, a Slayer, had been brought back undead, the abnormality might have ruptured into a full tear, and that would have been bad all the way around. Well, to make a long story shorter, everyone upstairs figured, since the First was going to eventually get through anyway, why not put it up against the best they had. You. So they made a deal with Osiris. You would be resurrected, with none of the bad consequences, but should you survive the Final Battle, you would become his."

"What does that mean?" Buffy asked, exasperated. "What's happening to me, Whistler? Why couldn't I just have died and gone back to Heaven?"

Whistler's eyes turned sad again. "Believe me, Kid, if you had died, you would have gone right back and no one would have been allowed to pull you out again. Unfortunately, when Willow performed the spell that activated all of the Potential Slayers, there was a side-effect that no one saw coming. Not the Powers, not the Oracles, not even Osiris."

Whistler took a deep breath, visibly bracing himself. "You see, she needed a focus for the spell. A connection to the Slayer line. She used you. But in the process, she inadvertently tied your lifeline to the Slayer line. That's why your wound is taking so long to heal. You should be dead. That sword cut through your kidney, liver and intestines."

"What does that mean, Whistler?" Buffy asked, a little concerned by his obvious reluctance.

The balance demon took another deep breath. "You're immortal, Buffy, practically invulnerable. You will live as long as there is a Slayer walking the Earth. You can only be seriously injured by the weapons created by mystical means. The stronger the magick used to create the weapon, the worse the wound would be, but even that won't kill you."


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Sam walked through the corridors in a daze. She was pale and shaken and it was obvious that she had been crying. She had just spent the last several hours in closed conference with General Hammond and Major Davis, learning that, not only was the world she knew _not_ as comfortably explainable as she'd always believed, but her daughter, _her daughter_, had been the only thing keeping the monsters in the shadows where they belonged. She had been fighting virtually alone, with just the help of children still in school.

She was currently heading for the infirmary, barely paying attention to, much less acknowledging, anyone in her path. She had told Major Davis that, although this was a matter of security, this was also personal and about her child, and she needed to be able to talk to someone. Janet had been Sam's best friend since the brunette had first arrived at Stargate Command. It had always been Janet that Sam had turned to instead of the base psychologist, and she was the only one outside of then General that knew that Sam had a child. She had managed to convince the Major that Janet could and would keep this to herself.

Seeing that Janet was examining a member of SG-9, Sam went directly into her office without saying a word. She didn't know if the CMO had seen her, but she knew that Janet would eventually make her way in here and, until then, she could use the time to think.

"Sam? Sam??"

Sam jerked awake. She looked groggily into the soft brown hovering over her. "Janet?"

"Are you okay?" Her friend looked like the world was ending. Unfortunately, in their line of work, that could very well be true.

Sam shook the cobwebs from her head. Glancing out the open office door, she saw that the infirmary was empty. Remembering why she was haunting Janet's office instead of her own, she looked pleadingly at her friend. "Want to go for a hike with me after shift?"

Janet blinked, recognizing their signal that Sam needed to talk about something personal and private. "Sure." She answered, glancing at the clock on her desk. "My shift is over in about an hour."

Sam nodded. Taking a deep breath, she rose and left her friend's office. Making her way back to her own, she shut down the projects that she was working on, knowing that she would never be able to concentrate. Instead, she used the temporary access given to her by Major Davis and began downloading the classified files to her personal computer.

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

Buffy was still sitting on the deck, staring blanking over the ocean, when Willow found her early the next morning.

"Hey, Buffy, how was your night?" The witch asked. "Buffy?"

The blonde Slayer didn't respond, just kept staring out over the water. To the redhead, her friend looked like she was in shock. Dragging one of the other chairs around the table, she took Buffy's cold hand into her own.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" She asked, worriedly. "What's happened?"

"I got a visit from Whistler." Buffy said softly. "He had some news for me."

Willow knew about the balance demon from previous visits, so she knew that the news probably wasn't of the good. "What did he say? Do I need to turn him inside out?"

Buffy smiled at her best friend's vehemence. Even when things were strained between them, Willow had always been willing to go to bat for her. Then she sighed and her smile faded. Except for the one time she really needed it. Mentally shaking away those thoughts, she answered her friend. "He came with an apology from the Powers. They killed Mom. They didn't mean to, but when the memories of Dawn were inserted into her memories, it accidentally made the tumor in her head malignant."

"WHAT!!!"

"Don't tell Dawn, okay." Buffy whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It would kill her if she knew. Whistler said that it wasn't intended, and they actually apologized."

Willow abandoned her chair to squeeze in next to Buffy. Wrapping her friend in a tight hug, she cried with her over the death of the woman who'd practically adopted her and Xander all those years ago. "What else did he say?"

"I don't want everyone to know." Buffy wiped the tears from her eyes. "We need to get the Scoobies together, including Faith, without all the others."

Buffy took a few deep breaths to regain her composure. "So, how did your date go last night?"

Willow smiled. "It was nice. We went to dinner, then went dancing."

It was the tone of Willow's voice that alerted her. "What's wrong, Will? What happened?"

Willow shook her head. "It's probably nothing."

"If it's bothering you, then it's not nothing, Will." Buffy said firmly. "I'm your best friend, aren't I? We're supposed to talk about these things."

"Are we, Buffy?" The redhead's eyes were suddenly filled with tears. "After everything that's happened, are we still best friends?"

Buffy thought about that, hard. Being ripped out of heaven, Willow nearly destroying the world, the Scoobies turning their backs on her and throwing her out of her own house. Finally, the Slayer sighed, feeling again the anger from that night. "We've got some things to work out, but you'll always be my best friend, Willow. So, tell me what's wrong."

Willow fidgeted in her seat. "Well, all throughout dinner, Kennedy kept checking out other women in the restaurant as they passed our table. Not just, you know, noticing that a beautiful woman just walked by, because, I mean, everyone does that, even me. Kennedy was really eyeing them, practically undressing them with her eyes."

Buffy nodded for her to continue.

"I've only been with Oz, then Tara, you know. Neither of them ever did that when we went out. Is that usual?"

"I'm not really sure, Will." Buffy told her. "My dating experience is about the same as yours. First there was Angel, then Riley and finally Spike. I didn't exactly go out of 'dates' with any of them, remember. Do you think she was interesting in more than just looking?"

Willow shrugged. "I don't know. I just kinda felt like, when we first got together, we were in the middle of a fight for our lives, you know, and now, it's like, she's seeing that she has more choices than just me."

Buffy _could not_ believe that she was about to say this but, Willow was her best friend, and she deserved happiness if she could find it. "Give her a chance, Will. She's young and this is probably the first serious relationship she's had. She may not realize how she's making you feel. Talk to her."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, actually I do."

"Thanks, Buffy." Willow said gratefully. "I know you don't like her."

"No, I don't." Buffy agreed. "But you didn't like Angel, so I think we're even."

Buffy reached over and hugged her friend, ignoring the pain that flared through her. "C'mon, let's get the others and go out for breakfast. This news isn't something that can be put off."

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

"So, is this about that meeting with General Hammond?" Janet started as they started up one of the less-traveled paths.

"Yeah." Sam sighed. "It's about my daughter."

Janet stopped mid-step, nearly falling over before she compensated and put her foot down. "What? Is she all right?"

"We're not sure. The town she was living in collapse into a sinkhole. It's been verified that she, Dawn and their friends made it as far as LA, but then they just disappeared."

Janet waited. That news, while not good, wasn't enough to have them come up this mountain.

"Major Davis brought the news." Sam continued after a moment. "He wanted to know if I had any idea why Buffy would be in the US Military Database under Presidential Security with a Security Clearance higher than Colonel O'Neill's."

For the second time in only ten minutes, Janet nearly landed face first on the path as she stumbled once again. "Umm, Sam, she can't be more than twenty-one or twenty-two. How can she have any of that?"

Sam's face twisted with angry self-recrimination. "Apparently, while I've jumping all over the fucking galaxy, my kid has been fighting for her life and everyone in the whole damn world every night for the last seven years."

As Sam began to explain, Janet sat down on a fallen log and pulled her friend down next to her. Sam told her about Buffy burning down her high school gym and resulting institutionalization, told her the explanation that Buffy had given that no one had believed. Joyce's divorce and decision to move to Sunnydale. Buffy running away one summer after a fight, but returning 3 months later. Buffy graduating high school and going to college.

Janet remembered when Sam had proudly shown her and Cassie Buffy's graduation picture. It had shown a smiling blonde with her arm wrapped a smiling redhead. Behind them with his arms hanging off of both girls' shoulder was a goofily grinning young man.

Then Sam told her friend what Major Davis had just told her. Janet listened in growing horror as Sam told her that the brightly smiling young woman in the picture, and her friends, had been fighting night after night, _for the better part of the last decade_, against monsters she'd seen only in horror movies and her own nightmares, at least the ones that she'd had before the Stargate Program.

Dying at 16.

Sending her boyfriend to Hell at 17.

Blowing up the High School at 18.

Destroying a military created monstrosity at 19.

Defeating a real God, not a Goa'uld impersonating at god, and dying, _again_, at 20.

Talking her best friend out of destroying the world at 21.

Now, apparently winning a battle that no one knew was happening, which resulted in the collapse of an entire town.

Janet listened to it all with interrupting. _My God,_ she thought, _and I thought Cassie's life was hard._


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"Why aren't we all invited?" Kennedy demanded.

"Kennedy, please." Willow began, but was cut off.

"No, Willow. We're Slayers. All of us, not just Faith and _Buffy_. So if she has information that involves Slayers, then we should all be told."

"And if it involved any of you," Buffy said as she leaned against the doorway. "then you would be, but seeing as how this is actually about me, then I'll decide who I want told."

"Willow will just tell me later, anyway." Kennedy sneered, turning to face Buffy. "So I don't see why I'm not coming along."

Buffy just arched a blonde brow and smirked. She had been standing there for several minutes while they argued, and could clearly see that Willow was on the verge of losing her temper. Buffy had only spoken up to divert the other Slayer's attention and give her friend a moment to regain her composure, but she knew that Kennedy had blown that when she insinuated that Willow would break a confidence. With a barely noticeable motion of her head, she warned Faith to stay out of sight when she felt her sister Slayer approaching from behind, just as Willow grabbed her girlfriend's shoulder and spun Kennedy back around to face her.

"Where the hell did you get the impression that I would anyone anything that was told to me in confidence?" Willow growled, her eyes snapping in fury. Kennedy took an involuntary step back at Willow's sudden temper. "First of all, Buffy's been my friend a hell of a lot longer than we've even _known_ each other, and if she wants to tell us something that she doesn't want you to now, whether it's just about her or about the Slayers as a whole, then that's her choice. If she says that it's none of your business, then it's _NONE OF YOUR GOD DAMNED BUSINESS_."

"Whoa." Faith whispered from behind Buffy. "Red's got a wicked temper."

Buffy backed into the hallway and they walked backed downstairs as Willow started to really light into the other girl. "Yeah. Trust me, if it had been this Willow way back then, she would have kicked your ass all over Sunnydale. I found out a long time ago that, underneath that beneath those shy, repressed layers, is a temper to match that red hair. Add that to the bad magick and I'd rather face off against Angelus and Adam together than have her pissed off at me."

When Willow finally joined them, her cheeks her regaining their healthy color. Xander opened his mouth to speak and Buffy elbowed him, making a slashing motion across her throat as she nodded at their friend and he slammed his mouth closed so fast that Faith was sure he had shattered his teeth. Willow's face turned red with anger but, like the cliché, she really did go pale when she was furious. Rage led to black hair, black eyes and black veins.

"Let's go." The witch snapped.

Nobody said a word as they followed, not even Giles. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, Faith noticed. Not like it would usually be in the company of someone so obviously angry. As they rode into town, everyone talked quietly amongst themselves, giving the witch time to recover her composure. Faith, taking her cue from the others, turned to Dawn.

"So, Little D, whatcha got planned for school?"

Dawn shrugged. "Not sure yet. Probably home school until we find a place to settle. Then, when we do, I won't have to play catch up with every one else."

"That's a very good idea, Dawn." Giles interjected. "Faith, you might want to think about that as well. Home schooling for a high school diploma would be much better than simply getting your GED."

Faith rolled her eyes, already regretting starting this line of conversation. "Whatever."

By the time they reached the restaurant, Willow's good humor had been restored and she was joking happily with Xander and Buffy. They ordered and discussed future plans as they ate. Finally, Faith leaned back in her chair.

"So, B, what's the what?" She asked before shoving another sausage link into her mouth.

Buffy sighed and waited as the waitress refilled their drinks before speaking. "I got a visit from Whistler last night while everyone was out."

"What did he want?" Dawn asked a little nervously. The demon never seemed to come with good news.

Buffy told them everything that Whistler had told her about The First and about how her destiny had been to die at the hands of the master and because she had been revived and there were now two slayers, an instability had been created that The First used to filter into their dimension from wherever it had been banished. She told them how The First had been helping them so that Buffy would remain alive, because the longer she lived and the stronger she became, the larger the instability grew. She told them how It had manipulated Willow into the resurrection spell because Buffy's death was allowing the instability to heal, and Willow's resulting descent into the Dark Magick had just been a huge bonus.

"You know what this means, Will?" Buffy interrupted herself as something occurred to her. "That Beljockey Eyeball thingie that Giles talked to was wrong. It wasn't you guys bringing me back that allowed The First to gain a foothold, it was a cosmic crack."

"Beljoxa's Eye." Giles corrected automatically.

Buffy rolled her eyes as Willow, Giles, Xander and Dawn looked at each other. It took a few moments for what Buffy had just said to sink in. It wasn't their fault. The guilt that had been weighing on them since Giles' revelation began to fade.

"Back to the story, B." Faith interrupted their musing.

"Right." Buffy cleared her throat to regain everyone's attention. "Well, The PTB knew that eventually The First would find a way back into our dimension, so when they realized what It was doing to Willow, they decided to use that against It. They made a deal with Osiris to allow me to be resurrected with my mind and soul intact. If they hadn't, I would have been brought back a brain-eating zombie."

"W-what?" Willow stuttered. "No, that's not right. It said that if you died a mystical death, then you could be brought back. That would have only happened if you had died a death natural to our dimension."

"That's the thing, Will. I didn't die a mystical death. I mean, yeah, I jumped through portal to close it, but it was the fall that actually killed me."

Willow paled. "But… But…"

"It's okay, Will, breathe." Buffy rubbed her friend's back. "The First got into your head. Twisted your thoughts and nightmares until you it had you convinced that I needed to be rescued. You only did what you thought was right."

She gave them a minute to adjust to that before continuing. "The deal they made with Osiris allowed me to be pulled out of heaven so that I could fight The First, but there were conditions. If we won and I died, then I would be at peace, and no one would have been allowed to pull me out again, for any reason, but if I survived, which I obviously did, then I would no longer be working for The Powers."

Giles paled. Faith looked shocked. Xander, Dawn and Willow looked confused. Finally Dawn asked the question everyone was thinking. "What does that mean?"

Buffy didn't answer immediately, but turned to Willow. "The spell you did to activate the Potentials, you used me as a focus remember?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah. I needed a connection to the Slayer Line."

"Well, you connected all right. The spell tied my lifeline to the Slayer Line. According to Whistler, I'll live as long as there is a Slayer breathing, but my status as Champion has been transferred from The Powers to Osiris."

All the color drained from Willow's face, making her wide green eyes stand out even more. Faith was pale and shaken as well. "You're not a Slayer anymore?"

Buffy shook her head. "Once Chosen, always Chosen, Faith. I'll always be a Slayer, but I'll no longer be part of the Slayer Line. I can't die, remember, and if I remain within the Line, another instability will occur, and The First will be able to break through again. So, it's your turn for the spotlight.

"The Balance is restoring itself, and that means one Slayer at a time. All of the Potentials turned Slayers are going to be Potentials again. To minimize complications, The Powers are going to alter their memories. They'll remember everything that happened, they'll remember that they fought The First and won, but they'll remember fighting as Potentials when they did it. They will have no memories of ever being Slayers. The other girls around the world that were activated by the spell will become Potentials again as well."

"So what happens now?" Xander asked.

"Well, when Mom died, my birth mother should have been notified, but she wasn't because the Powers didn't want to take the chance that I would leave the Hellmouth. I still want to find her, but I think we need to get ourselves settled first. Figure out what to do with the girls when they become Potentials again."

"When's that going to happen, anyway?"

"I don't know. He didn't tell me." Buffy shrugged. "Giles, what's up with that new Hellmouth you mentioned?"

"It's relatively small compared to the one that was in Sunnydale." Giles told them. "I suspect that it will get stronger now that the other one is out of commission."

"Faith, can you handle that alone for a few weeks?" Buffy asked.

"No sweat, B." Faith smirked. "Whatcha got in mind?"

"A vacation." Buffy sighed. "Now that I know that I'm not tied to Hellmouth, I'm taking some time to really recover. I've been running on nothing but fumes for the last couple of years."

"Wait a minute." Xander exclaimed. "What do you mean? You can't just leave."

Buffy turned to him with a raised brow. "Sure I can. I'm no longer The Slayer, remember. The Hellmouth isn't my responsibility. I'll help, because I _am_ a Slayer, but make no mistake, it is my decision to help or not."

"What about the rest of us?" Xander demanded. He looked to Willow for help, but she just stared at him with wide eyes. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Whatever you want." She said simply. "It's always been your choice to fight or not."

"We fought with you and that's all you have to say?!" Xander yelled, jumping to his feet. "Anya died helping you!"

In a flash, Buffy was on her feet and dragging him out of the restaurant by his shirt. The others quickly followed after Giles tossed some money on the table to cover their bill. They caught up with Buffy and Xander just in time to see her shove him down a nearby alley and slam him against the wall, holding him pinned with both fists knotted in his shirt and both of his feet off the ground.

"What makes you think you have the right to make demands of me?" She snarled. "You _chose_ to stay and fight. I tried to keep you out of it, but you _chose_ to stay. I fought for you. I bled for you. _I died for you!_ You pulled me out of Heaven, and bled for you again. Through it all, time after time _you chose_ to stay and fight. And when it came down to it, after everything, you turned on me. _ALL OF YOU!_ You turned on me and kicked me out of my own house, into the streets that were crawling with Bringers, alone, and still I fought for you. You lost your eye, and I'm sorry. You lost Anya, and I'm sorry about that too, but it was _YOUR CHOICE!_" She shook him hard, then slammed him against the wall again, oblivious to the mortal dust falling on them. "I didn't choose any of this, I didn't want any of this, and I lost everything! My family, Angel, Spike, my life, _MY MOM_, and you have the God damned gall to bitch at me when I've finally had enough and want to take a _fucking_ break! Every time I close my eyes, I see their faces. Jenny, Oz, Tara, the Potentials that you accused me of sending to the slaughter, shifting faces of people I saw walking down the street one day and were staking them out of their coffins some night. Seven years, Xander! I've been fighting every night for seven years! You guys could take the night off, or the whole weekend, or go on a road trip for the summer, or any of those other things that normal people do, but _I had to stay and fight_, and now _you complain_?! Well, fuck you, Xander. Fuck all of you."

Before anyone could stop her, she released her friend and was running down the street. A moment later, she was out of sight. After a moment's hesitation, Faith ran after her.

"I'll keep an eye on her." She yelled back to the others.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"What's wrong with you, Xander?" Willow snapped. "We were just talking about how Buffy needed a break!"

"That was before we found out that all the new Slayers aren't going to be Slayers anymore, Will." He snapped back, sliding down into a sitting position. His back and legs were still tingling from the impact when she had slammed him into the wall. "She can't just abandon her duty, even if it is to another Slayer."

"Weren't you listening back there?" Dawn yelled. That brought Xander up short. Dawn had never yelled at him before. "It's not her duty anymore. Damn you, Xander Harris, you're no better than the Watcher's Council!"

Through it all, Giles kept his opinions to himself. He could understand where Xander was coming from, but Willow and Dawn were right. After seven years of non-stop battle, Buffy _did_ need a break. She had seen more action than trained soldiers in the middle of a war, and he could see that she was on the verge of breaking. This last fight had nearly destroyed her, and not at the hands of The First. It had been her family and friends that had inflicted the most damage. The mental and emotional blows that were so detrimental to a warrior like her.

She had been withdrawing from them more and more in the last few months, especially after discovering just what she was up against with The First. He had known was she was doing and, intellectually, he knew that it was for the best. When fighting a war, the leader of an army could not afford to become personally attached to her troops. If that leader wanted to win, she had to acknowledge and accept that there would be casualties, and personal attachments led to hesitation to send those troops out to do what needs to be done. It was why the Council had so vehemently discouraged Watchers from becoming attached to their assigned Slayers. Buffy had known that and distanced herself, giving her orders like the leader it had taken her six years to become.

In their first year together, Buffy had forced him to see the fatal flaw in the Council's doctrine of completely isolating the Slayer from the world she fought so hard to protect. The isolation lead to them fighting with no true purpose. Fighting because they were told that they had no choice would only take them so far, and when the burden of their calling became too much, they had no reason to continue fighting and embraced the opportunity to sacrifice themselves in battle since they had been told that death was the only way they could obtain peace. Buffy had told him more than once that her family and friends were the reason that she fought and the reason why she survived. When she was younger, Buffy refused to accept that sometimes sacrifices were necessary, but as the years went by and she faced off against bigger and stronger opponents, and especially as the fight against The First escalated, he had seen the grudging acknowledgement that sometimes lives had to be lost to win the war, and the knowledge that she had to distance herself when making those choices if she wanted to survive the aftermath with her sanity. He knew she realized it when she was ready to kill Anya after the jilted woman had become a vengeance demon again, but his heart ached for her when he saw the final acceptance in her eyes when she prepared herself to kill her best friend. Both situations had turned out for the best, but the lessons had been learned.

Intellectually, he understood, even approved, but the reality of watching those children die had been more than he could accept. In hindsight, he acknowledged that casting Buffy aside had been stupid and dismissing the instincts that he himself had helped her cultivate and refine for six years went beyond the realm of foolish. He had known that some of those girls were going to die. It was inevitable. He had sent them to Buffy because she was their best hope to save at least _some_ of them, but he had forgotten that in the horror seeing those children be slaughtered by Caleb in what had seemed at the time to be nothing more than a wild goose chase.

When she had returned with the Scythe, having gone back to the vineyard to search for it alone, and informed them that Caleb was dead, he had nearly been floored with guilt. She had proven once again, that her instincts had been correct. She had proven, _again_, why she was the most successful and longest surviving Slayer. She had proved, _again,_ just why he had sent the girls to her in the first place.

He had wanted to get down on his knees and beg for her forgiveness, but with Faith out of commission, and The First escalating its plans, Buffy had refused to speak on the matter again.

He sighed, and focused his attention back on Xander, who was trying to plead his case, and the girls who were still yelling at him for his insensitivity. He reached down and hauled the young man to his feet. "The girls are right, Xander. Even if Buffy was still the Senior Slayer, she deserves this chance to rest. Buffy will help out because that is her nature, but the responsibility belongs to Faith now."

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

"You, B!" Faith yelled after the blonde. "Wait up, girl!"

Either Buffy didn't hear her, or pretended not to, because she didn't slow down for several more blocks. Faith was about to pull up even with the older girl, before Buffy suddenly turned down a side street and bolted down an alley. By the time Faith caught up, Buffy was working out her anger on a group of men. Faith was so shocked to see the blonde attacking humans that it wasn't until she heard the muffled sobs that she realized that they weren't alone. Her eyes swung to the source of the crying, and seeing the woman cringing against the wall, she finally realized that Buffy had interrupted. Faith could easily see the bruises on the woman's body and her nose twitched at the scent of fresh blood.

"Shh. You're safe now." The dark-haired slayer murmured soothingly. "No one's gonna hurt you any more."

She inched closer until she could crouch down next to the woman, who had curled up into a fetal position. Keeping a wary eye on the other Slayer, she pulled out her cellphone to call an ambulance. When one of the attackers was sent flying headfirst into the opposite wall, Faith figured that she'd better stop Buffy before she killed someone, even if they did deserve it.

"OK, B, they're done." She said, stepping in front of the other girl when she started after one of the others that was somehow still conscious. "Let's get out of here before the cops show up." Approaching her warily, Faith guided her away from the alley. "C'mon. Let's hit the sewers and see what we can kill."

They were several blocks away before Buffy calmed enough to realize what she had done. She slowed down to a stop as her eyes widened in horror. "Oh, my God, Faith. I just attacked _humans_!"

"Don't worry about it, B." Faith told her. She'd been waiting for this. "They were raping that woman when you swooped in. They got what they deserved. Besides, you looked you needed that. I know that whole thing was eatin' at you. I never really understood why they did it. Or why you didn't just tell them to shove it."

"You weren't exactly sitting on the sidelines, Faith." She said, dropping down into the sewer behind the dark haired girl.

"Yeah, but I've always been like that." Faith smirked. "Besides, I'm second in line. I'm supposed to second guess you, you know. Question you when you start sounding crazy, so that you're sure about what you're doing. Didn't really expect them to pick up my torch and burn down the whole fuckin' building with it."

"Well, if they continue to fight, they'll be your responsibility now."

"The hell with that." Faith snarked. "I didn't want them the first time. They're adults, except for Little D. They're fuckin' responsible for themselves."

"You sense that?"

"Yeah. I'm thinking a nest, maybe 'bout eight or ten. Knock yourself out. Just don't break those stitches."

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

"Will you go through the files with me?" Sam asked suddenly. She and Janet had been sitting for hours in a clearing overlooking Colorado Springs. She had cried and cursed and raged until she was exhausted, and then they had just sat there, allowing the intense emotions to fade before moving on.

"The Initiative files?" Janet glanced over at her.

Sam nodded. "I set them to download after I left your office earlier. They should be finished by now."

"Are you sure I should be seeing them. I mean, they are classified."

"I cleared it with Davis." Sam sighed. "I told him that I was going to need to be able to talk to someone I could trust, and the staff psychologist wasn't that person."

"Oh." Janet said, absurdly pleased. She had always known that Sam would rather talk to her than the staff shrink, but this was a whole new level of trust. "Sure, I'll go through them with you. Besides, if it's proof of what you've been told, I don't think you should be going through that stuff alone anyway. Tomorrow's my day off, so I'll come to your lab, and we'll go through them."

Sam opened her mouth.

"No, Sam." Janet cut her off. "You're not going through them tonight. We're going to go back inside and you're going to encrypt those files. Then you're coming home with me. The last thing you need to be is alone right now."

Sam nodded meekly, knowing that her friend was right. She was exhausted from being run through the emotional ringer, and she had a headache that could kill a System Lord on steroids. They both knew that, if left to her own devices, she'd be driving herself crazy reading through those files chronicling the horror of her daughter's life. With a deep sigh, she followed the petite doctor back down the mountain path.

However, there was one thought that she couldn't shake.

"The NID almost killed my child, Janet." She whispered, tears running down her cheeks again.

Janet didn't reply, knowing that Sam was talking at her, not to her.

"They almost killed my child, and if I find out that they knew about that nutcase's pet project, they'll pray for Sokar's hell before I'm through with them."

Janet gave an involuntary shiver at the tone and the words, but she couldn't really disagree. She had been willing to kill the Goa'uld Niirti to save Cassie, and she had given an oath to do no harm when she became a doctor. Despite her brilliant mind and huge heart, Sam was more than capable of carrying out such a threat, and Janet found that she had no sympathy for whomever it was if it was true.


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

It was earth the next morning when Sam and Janet entered the base and made their way down to Sam's lab. Janet glanced over at her friend. It had been a quiet ride to the mountain, and that was so unlike Sam that it had Janet a little worried. It had been a restless night for Sam. They had continued talking about Buffy last night at Janet's home, and Janet had been awakened several times hearing Sam moving around. Janet had woken a little before dawn to find her friend standing in her back door with a glass of whiskey, simply staring out into the darkness, as if she were trying to see these things that her child was fighting.

Now, Sam was sitting at her desk, staring at the login screen of her computer. Janet could see her friend's rapid heartbeat in the pulse point on her neck, and watched silently as Sam clenched and unclenched her fists.

"What's the matter, Sam?" Janet finally asked. "Do you want to wait a little while before we do this?"

Sam swallowed convulsively, but shook her head. "I sent word to the General that we'd be going through the files. He promised that we wouldn't be disturbed unless the planet was being attacked. I was just wondering how I could have forgotten about Elizabeth. At first, Joyce sent me a letter every week. Elizabeth wrote a few times herself, although she only knew me as her Mommy's friend. When they moved to Sunnydale, the letters didn't come as often because Joyce was working to make a life for them without Hank. I don't even know when the letters stopped."

"You've been through a lot in the last few years." Janet put a hand on her friend's shoulder in comfort.

Sam accepted that, knowing that it was true, but it didn't ease her guilt. With a fast clattering of keys, Sam entered the password sequence that would decrypt her computer, and while that was in progress, she pulled out one of her spare laptop to sync them for Janet. Over the next several hours, the two women the files that had been collected and compiled on the inhabitants, both human and non-human, of Sunnydale, CA. Sam studies the data regarding the energies that were recorded, listed to be emanating from beneath the location where the High School was previously located. She read the documented interviews by the Sunnydale residents of the young blonde that appeared out of the darkness to save them from 'muggers on PCP wearing Halloween masks'. Janet, on the other hand, focused on the startling amount of autopsies with the cause of death listed as 'accidental throat stabbings with BBQ forks'. The doctor's eyebrows had nearly disappeared into her hear when she read that. That explanation was as transparent as an astrophysicist and an archaeologist working on Deep Space Telemetry.

"Buffy was called when she was 15, right?" Janet asked suddenly.

Sam looked up from where she was reading her daughter's police records. "Yes. Why? What did you find?"

"It seems that this Dr. Maggie Walsh pulled her medical records from her physical when she was a freshman at her previous high school to compare them with the records that she had from after Buffy was called."

"And?" Sam asked, moving around to see Janet's screen.

"Her medical files from before she was 'called' all indicate that she was a normal, healthy teenager with an active lifestyle." Janet looked at her.

Sam thought back. "She was a cheerleader and participated in gymnastics."

Janet nodded. "Okay, that makes sense. However, her records from her physical when she was institutionalized all show a spike in her metabolism and gives every indication of a more than healthy teenager with all the symptoms of ADHD."

"Well, that would account for her grades, in a way." Sam responded, moving back to her own computer. "She was a straight A student. She was 'called' right before her Homecoming Dance, and institutionalized for burning down the gym, so she missed the rest of that year, but her grades became erratic during her sophomore year. However, they kind of stabilized in the middle of her junior year and, she would have been a straight A student again if she wasn't constantly skipping school or sleeping in class. She aced all of her tests and excelled in her exams. I wonder what happened there."

When the finally took a break, they realized that they had missed lunch, so Sam encrypted the files once again, and they went down to the mess hall. Janet rolled her eyes at the extra helping of blue jello the server set on the blonde's food tray, but said nothing as they found an empty table.

"May I join you?" They looked up to see Major Davis standing over them with file folders in one hand and a food tray in the other.

"Sure." Sam said, although the look in her eyes told Janet that she wished otherwise. Fortunately, the Major didn't now her well enough to notice.

"I'm sorry to be the one to dump all of this on you, Sam." Davis started off. "I can't imagine what it must be like for you. I do, however, want to warn you that the President has been keeping tabs on your daughter and her friends, and he's made sure that nothing like the Initiative Project has ever happened again.

"The NID is becoming more of a hindrance than a help, Paul." Sam commented, uncharacteristically dropping military formality. "They are constantly dipping their hands in things that are better left alone. First, stealing from alien world that have better technology than we do, which means they more than likely have better weapons, and now creating Frankenstein monsters with demon parts and machine. Sooner or later, they're going to do something that can't be fixed. Someone has to put the lid on them."

Davis stopped eating at looked at her, unsettled by her tone, but Sam kept talking. "I'm telling you this now, Major. I will not be as tolerant as Jack and the General. They almost got Buffy killed. If I have to, I _will_ take the NID down once and for all."

BtVSSG-1SG-A

Buffy held herself still, despite the shards of pain shooting up her spine, as Willow examined the wound in her back. She had pulled a muscle while taking out that nest, but thankfully she hadn't torn open the stitches. At the moment, Willow was removing those stitches, probing around the wound as gently as she could.

"I think you're Slayer healing is finally kicking in." The witch said. "How does it feel?"

"Like someone is poking me with red hot needles." Buffy groaned. "So, what do you think about my decision to take a break?"

The hands on her back paused for a moment at the unexpected question. It had been some time since Buffy had asked for her best friend's opinion, even though her opinion was the only that had mattered for the longest time. She had never fully trusted Xander after finding out that he had lied to before about Angel. Nor had she fully gotten over the Giles' part in the Cruciamentum test that had almost gotten her mother killed. Up until a few weeks ago, only Willow had never willingly betrayed her. Pulling her from Heaven didn't count only because Willow had thought she was saving her.

"I think it's about time." Willow finally answered, getting back to work. "We were actually talking about suggesting that very thing. I think Xander panicked when you told us that all the new Slayers would be loosing their power." Willow paused for a moment, then continued quietly. "I've been thinking about what you said. I think we all have."

"Yeah?" Buffy forced herself not to tense.

"Yeah." Willow repeated. "You were right. About everything. It was our choice to stay and fight. Goddess knows I could have left when I was accepted to those other colleges."

Willow finished removing the stitches in silence. She cleaned the blood off of Buffy back, replaced the bandage and disappeared into the bathroom to put away the supplies and wash off. When she came back, she lay on the bed next to her friend.

"I don't think we ever apologized for what we did."

"Will…" Buffy began, pulling down the back of her shirt.

"No, Buffy, this needs to be said." Willow interrupted her, taking a deep breath. "We were wrong. I don't know about the others, except well, Faith 'cause she's been nothing but vocal, but we were stupid to not listen to you, and we were mean to throw you out. I mean, because you've always been right about stuff like this, and we should have known you were right this time, but we were scared, and people were getting killed right in front us and Caleb was so strong and you wanted to go right back in there and…"

"It was you that hurt the most, you know." Buffy interrupted her, turning her face to stare straight ahead. "When everyone else told me that I was wrong, you always stood behind me. Then, in our biggest fight, you just turned your back."

Willow choked back a sob. Behind her closed eyes, she saw the shattered expression on Buffy's face when she sided with Faith and Kennedy.

"I almost kept going, you know." Buffy continued quietly. "I was going to leave Sunndydale the next morning. Then, Spike found me, and held me, and convinced me to prove you all wrong. Then The First told me that you all were walking into a trap, and I knew that I couldn't let you guys die."

"I'm s-s-sorry, Buffy." Willow broke down, crying hard enough to vibrate the bed. "I-I-I'm sooo sorry."

Buffy gathered her friend in her arms and held her close as the witch's tears soaked her shirt. Willow curled into her body and cried so hard that she thought her body was going to shake apart. For several minutes, her sobs were they only sound in the room, then it was quiet except for the occasional hiccup as Willow cried herself to sleep. Suddenly, the door burst and open and Kennedy stormed in.

"What's going on here?" She growled. "What did you do to her?"

"Get out of my room, Kennedy." Buffy said quietly.

"Not this time." The other girl sneered. For some reason, a sliver of fear skittered down Kennedy's spine, but she shook it off. "I'm taking Willow out of here, and you're going to stay away from her. Or I'll put you down. Permanently."

Uncurling Willow's fingers from her shirt, Buffy wiggled out of bed without waking the witch. She stood in front of Kennedy. "This has nothing to do with you, Kennedy. Get out. I won't tell you again."

"I am so sick of you." Kennedy snarled. "You think you're so bad cause you're the longest living Slayer, but you couldn't even do it yourself. You needed help. Well, you're not the only one who's a Slayer this time and no one's gonna help you. You should have stayed gone when we threw you out the first time. Now, I going to kick your ass and throw you out for good."

She swung at Buffy, her fist connecting with the blonde's jaw with all her strength. And cried out as sharp pains shot up her arm. Buffy, whose head had turned at the hit, slowly looked back at Kennedy with a dangerous glint in her eye. Before the brunette could move, Buffy backhanded her out of the room and into the hall.

"Oh, I've been waiting for this." She said with a feral smile as she followed.


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Meeting of The Trust

Undisclosed Location

Former Vice President Robert Kinsey, Sr. looked around the polished oak wood table. It had been several weeks since he had been fired by the President, and since then, he had been desperately searching for a way to regain power. If not all of it, then at least enough to make his enemies pay. Even his ties with The Trust were being slowly severed as he gained notoriety, and these men today were the only ones left who had consented to hearing his plan.

"Despite the outcome of Project _ADAM_, I have had spies 'drop' in occasionally on the town of Sunnydale in continued hopes of finding a way to harness the powers of both the creatures that plague the town and the people who protect it." He started off, ignoring the uneasy shifting of the men in the shadows. "Especially the one they refer to as 'The Slayer'. I have had experts in every field go over the medical records that Maggie Walsh forwarded to this organization, and have been informed that there is, at this time, no way to reproduce another such as she. There are no indicators or medical reasons for the enhances senses, strength or agility. Even cloning has not been successful." As Kinsey had been giving his presentation, someone in the darkness had been cycling through photographs on a laptop. "Through samples of her DNA, we were able to create several such clones, but none of them possessed the enhanced abilities and senses of the original, Buffy Summers."

"Is there a point to this, Kinsey?" Someone asked.

"Of course there is." Kinsey snapped shortly. He nodded to the invisible person, and another image appeared, this time of a red head. "During our previous occupation of Sunnydale, we gave little notice to Buffy Summers' acquaintances. They were most friends and family, with knowledge but no direct connection to the mystical world. Lately, however, our 'otherworldly' connections have informed us that this one, Willow Rosenberg, has somehow managed to not only become a part of this other world, but she has taken her place among the most feared. On both sides."

The next slide was of Willow with black hair and eyes, and black veins spread throughout her face.

"At this time, Ms. Rosenberg had reached the height of her power in an attempt to destroy the world. She was talked down by Mr. Alexander Harris, and sent to England for training, but she still retains that power. It is that power that I suggest we attempt to harness next."

"And how do you propose we acquire the subject?" Another voice questioned. "She is protected by the Slayer, is she not? That is not one that will follow the laws that govern others we have dealt with. She will not go through normal channels in search of retribution."

"I concur." The first voice said. "Background research has shown that she will not be reasoned with in regards to those she care about. She is too much of an unknown quantity to risk exposure of The Trust. Our sources have told us that, unlike Slayers of the past, Ms. Summers has garnered her own demon informants. She will not go through the regular channels while searching for her friend. She will access any available resource, and that would bring too much unwanted attention to The Trust. That is not something that any of us will risk for someone we are not even completely sure we can control or coerce."

"Contracting an outside source would leave no trail back to The Trust." Kinsey argued. "Keeping her sedated and under the control of our own magic-users will keep her from escaping on her own. With the SGC and the President firmly against our organization, we _must_ do something to give us the advantage."

"That is yet another reason not to attempt this." A third speaker responded. "A bit of information that was somehow missed in the initial background check is the fact that Buffy Summers is the biological daughter of Samantha Carter. Altercations with the SCG, and Samantha Carter in particular, have resulted in everything from failure to catastrophe. Our branch of the NID has been disbanded and marked as traitors, both Adrian Conrad and Colonel Simmons were taken over by the Goa'uld we had captured and subsequently killed, and members of this committee have been arrested and imprisoned."

"How was that information missed?" Speaker #1 asked, shocked.

"We do not know." Speaker #3 answered. "It was discovered during the investigation of the Sunnydale Collapse. Our sources at the Pentagon have informed us that Major Paul Davis has taken copies of the Initiative Files to Stargate Command to speak with Colonel Carter regarding this. We've also received word from our operative in the SGC. Apparently, he overheard part of a conversation between Colonel Carter and Major Davis."

He tapped the screen on his handheld computer to play an audio file. _"I'm telling you this now, Major. I will not be as tolerant as Jack and the General. They almost got Buffy killed. If I have to, I will take the NID down once and for all."_

Kinsey was furious. "It's all bluster. They have been threatening that very same thing the Conrad Incident."

"No, Colonel O'Neill has been threatening that." Speaker #3 argued. "Colonel O'Neill, while fully capable of carrying out such a threat, will relegate himself to the bounds of his command. In this instance, we do not believe that Samantha Carter will be so hesitant. She is not speaking just as an Air Force Officer, she is also speaking as a mother, and she is the one who has contributed the most to the constant downfalls of this organization. It is the decision of the committee that The Trust will have no further contact with Buffy Summers. We will not place ourselves between the two. Such an action could destroy us."

"Is that your final word?" Kinsey demanded coldly.

The three Trust committee members looked at each other in silent communication. Then, with a short nod from the other two, Speaker #1 answered the former Vice President. "It is."

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

"Airport." Kinsey snapped as he got into the car.

Without a response, the doors locked and the car pulled of immediately. Kinsey was beyond furious. His plans were constantly being shot down by people too weak-willed to see the bigger picture. With Rosenberg under his control, they would no longer have to worry about the SGC or the President, or even the Slayer, he suspected. But no, they didn't want to be caught between a rock and a hard place, even if that it where the treasure was located. Narrow-sighted fools.

At the airport, he got out of the car and went up the stairs to his private jet. Giving the pilot his directions, he settled at his desk in the main body. Booting his laptop, he entered his password to decrypt his files and began browsing through his possibilities for his Plan B. During the flight, he reviewed the files and compiled a list of the ones he was interested in. Just before landing, he wrote up his demands and orders and sent them off to his contact in Thailand.

Settling in another car on his way to his home, he reviewed his plans. He had multiple other things to do while his Thailand operative contacted the contract mercenaries that he needed to accomplish his main goal.

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

Buffy watched in idle satisfaction as several Slayerettes carried an unconscious Kennedy out up the stairs. Her heart was racing and the heat of battle was surging through her veins in a way she had never felt before.

"Yo, B, way to put the smackdown on the brat." Faith complimented, unconsciously stopping a few feet away. She could tell that Buffy was still in fight-mode, and she didn't want to do anything to set the other girl off. The elder Slayer was becoming more and more unforgiving and unpredictable and it was starting to worry her.

Buffy slowly turned, and Faith thought she saw something shift in the blonde's eyes as they settled on her, but it was gone so fast that she must have imagined it.

"Faith?"

"Yeah, B. It's just me and you." Faith answered, approaching cautiously. Her Slayer senses were starting to tingle in a weird way. "Damn, looks like she got in a few good shots."

"What's going on?" Both Slayers turned to see Willow standing at the top of the stairs, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. "I just saw a couple of the girls carrying Kennedy into our bedroom."

"She attacked me, Will." Buffy answered quietly. "She was going to take you away."

Then something weird happened in Faith's mind. It seemed like the feral aggression that was radiating from the blonde Slayer seemed to calm in the witch's presence. Her breathing evened and Faith could hear her heartbeat slow. She was looking at Willow when the redhead suddenly gasped, staring at Buffy. Turning quickly, her own eyes widened as the bruises and cuts on Buffy's face healed and cleared up before their eyes.

"What…" Willow asked after a moment. "What do you mean she was going to take me away?"

"After you fell asleep, she stormed in." Buffy explained in that same quiet voice that was sending shivers up and down Faith's spine. "Said that I should have stayed away when you guys threw me out. She said that she was going to kick my ass and throw me out for good. Then she hit me."

Faith opened her mouth to comment, but nearly swallowed her tongue when Buffy turned those intense eyes on her. There was something really off with the blonde and Faith desperately wanted to know what it was, but she wasn't foolish enough to draw unnecessary attention to herself when the other woman was so obviously unstable.

"What?!?" Willow growled. "How dare she?"

"I'm going to go clean up, then go on patrol." Buffy suddenly said, pushing past them. "I'll be back by morning."

She was gone before they could respond. Faith and Willow looked at each other in confusion. "Faith, what happened?"

"Buffy took your girl down hard." Faith smirked. "Taught the brat some respect, I bet. I'm sorry, Red, but she had it coming. Buffy took her out like she was still a potential. First thing I saw was Kennedy come flying out of B's room. Another pop had her tumblin' down the stairs. Kennedy got in some really good blows before B really laid into her. We're gonna have to replace most of the furniture in the living room and have the walls fixed."

"Why do you call Kennedy by her name when you give nicknames to the rest of us?" Willow asked curiously.

"Something's going on with B." Faith continued. "First, she attacks Xander, then she attacked several guys after we ran off, and now this. We gotta talk about this with the others, Red."

She started to walk up the stairs before pausing. "And I don't like Kennedy."


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Sam and Janet sat at quietly in the briefing room with Major Davis. They were waiting for General Hammond to join them. They had finished going through the files and Sam had initiated the destruction protocol that would wipe away all trace of them from her computers. Now, General Hammond was speaking to the President, who had put trusted people on the task of tracking down the Slayer and her friends.

"All right, people." General Hammond said as he finally joined them. "Reports indicate that Miss Rosenberg rented an oceanfront summerhouse not far outside of Los Angeles. Surveillance has shown a group of young women coming and going, as well as 'patrolling'. They all seem to have the strength and agility of the Slayer, and so far, the President has been able to keep this limited to the people he trusted implicitly, but he is not sure how much longer that will last. I understand that you intend to contact them, Colonel?"

"Yes, sir." Sam said, "I was thinking of starting off with sending Miss Rosenberg an e-mail requesting a face-to-face meeting, since she is the only one that we know is Internet accessible."

"That would probably be wise." Major Davis commented. "They have not had the best interactions with the military do date, and they are too unpredictable in their reactions to just show up at their door. I would advise being up front from the beginning. Tell her that you know what she is, and assure her that you are in no way affiliated with the Initiative project, nor has the project be restarted. Miss Summers' clearance is still valid, and you authorized to tell her, and only her, about the Stargate Command, if she asks, in order to gain her trust. Like you, she will be allowed to choose one person to share the information with, but they must be authorized and they must receive clearance." He handed Sam several thick folders. "Here are the standard confidentiality contracts. I have also asked for, and received temporary clearance under the names of Dawn Summers, Faith Lehane, Rupert Giles, Alexander Harris and Willow Rosenberg. Fingerprint ID of the person she chooses to share the information with will invalidate the others." He handed each another set of folders. "These are dossier files on the others."

"Is it really necessary that they know about the Stargate Program?" General Hammond questioned. "How can we be sure that they will accept the necessity of keeping the program a secret?"

"General, these 'civilians' are already keeping secrets that are bigger than the Stargate Program, and have been for quite some time." Davis informed him, "They have been fighting demons and vampires since high school. One of their number left after high school and went to LA to attempt to become an actress. When that failed, she could have told the story, even offered proof, but didn't, and she, out of all of them, was the most likely to do so."

"Besides, General, if there really are more Slayers, we will want to gain their trust as soon as possible before other like Kinsey find out and begin hunting for them." Sam added. "This is probably the best way to do that. No holding back with our secrets when it is so clear that we know theirs will give them more of a reason to acknowledge the level of threat we have to show to them."

"There is another thing to consider." Janet added her two cents. "If the accounts of her abilities are true, it may be possible that these Slayers will be able to sense that Sam was once a host, and Teal'c's larva, if they meet. If they sense it, that will most likely be the first thing that they react to."

"She's right, sir." Sam nodded thoughtfully. "If it's asked, that would be the perfect opportunity to present the disclosure clauses. After that, everyone can lay all their cards on the table."

"Is this really our best option?" Hammond asked. His expression said that he hated the whole idea, but was resigned to it.

"Yes, sir." Major Davis answered. He understood how the General felt, but he was more aware of the consequences if these people were unduly provoked, intended or not.

"I've got a better idea." A sly voice with a New York Bronx accent interjected. "Why don't I make the intros."

Hammond and the others had just enough time to turn towards the voice before the world around them went white.

- - BtVS - - - SG-1 - -

"B, wake up." Faith shook the blonde. "Wake up, girl. We gotta problem."

"What the hell, Faith." Buffy snarled. "I just got to sleep."

"B, it happened." Faith shook her again until Buffy finally sat up in the bed and looked at her expectantly. "The Slayettes lost their powers. They all woke up freaking out, but none of the really know why. Neither do G, Little D, or the Xan-Man. Willow thinks we remember because we're directly connected to the Slayer Line."

"Damn Powers." Buffy grumbled, getting out of bed. "Can never do anything without make it a theatrical damned production. Whatever happened to just easing them out of it. They were freaking asleep, for God's sake. How hard could it have been for them to ease a transition like that in someone's sleep?"

Faith waiting as she pulled on some clothes and brushed her teeth, griping about The Powers the entire time. Buffy could be such a California airhead when she wanted to be. Finally, the descended into the madness downstairs. All of the Slayers turned Potentials were on the verge of hysteria, and Giles was desperately trying to calm them. Xander wisely kept out of the way, and Dawn was just confused. Willow made her way across the room when she saw them.

"They're all saying the same thing." Willow told them. "They dreamed about a funny looking demon in a bowler hat standing over them and pulling a golden light out of their bodies."

"Whistler." Buffy growled.

"The Balance Demon?" Faith asked.

"And The Powers' errand boy." Buffy told her. "He's the one they send to do their dirty work. Jerks."

"All right, everybody, shut up!" Faith yelled suddenly. The noise level was starting to make her ears hurt. "Dawn, Xander, can you guys go get something for breakfast?"

"Faith's right." Buffy stated. "The rest of us can try to figure out what's going on. You guys tell Giles what the demon looked like, and we'll check out your rooms to see if we can sense anything."

Everyone visibly calmed as the Senior Slayers took control. Even Kennedy, which told just how unsettled everyone really was. They might not remember being Slayers, but it was obvious that they realized something was wrong.

The two Slayers and the witch made their way back to Buffy's bed room. Just as she was turning the doorknob, her spidey sense began tingling and, without any warning, she shoved the door open and lashed out with her foot, catching Whistler square in the chest just as he materialized in front of her. Faith followed, her senses twitching in another direction, and before anyone could react, she had a tall blonde down on the ground with her knee across her throat. Willow, taking in the scene, waved her hand and immediately, the others with the Balance Demon, who were merely human but were wearing military uniforms, found themselves pinned to the far wall as the door slammed closed behind the witch. Before Buffy could reach him again, Whistler snapped his fingers and, in a flash of bright light, both sides were flung in opposite directions. Buffy growled, sounding uncomfortably like an enraged wild animal, as she jumped to her feet and leapt at him again, only to bounce off an invisible wall.

"Settle down, Slayer." Whistler said, his voice unusually serious. "Don't make me take steps."

Buffy took a few deep breaths and climbed slowly to her feet, as did the others. Faith and Willow stared at the balance demon in shock, but Buffy showed no real surprise. Whistler might not look very powerful, but he was the mouthpiece for The Powers. If he wasn't powerful in his own right, then she was sure they had boosted what powers he did have.

"Sorry, Whistler," Buffy sneered. "Just having a few problems being awakened after only two hours of sleep to deal with the mess _you_ made."

"What are you talking about, kid." He asked, reverting back to jovial self when it looked like she had regained control.

"The Potentials are all downstairs in hysterics." Willow told him hastily, seeing Buffy's temper already starting to fray,. "They all had the same nightmare. A badly dressed demon in a bowler hat standing over their bed pulling a glowing ball of white light out of them, then disappearing. They might not remember what they used to be, but they definitely know something's wrong."

"Damn it." Whistler muttered. "The Human Subconscious chooses the damnest times to stand up and take notice."

He waved a hand and the noise downstairs quieted. "All fixed. They don't remember anything. Neither does the boy, the Watcher, or the K… little sister." He turned to the military folks. "Oh, neither do your people, and all the footage has been altered."

"What!?!" Hammond shouted as his shock wore off. "How dare you sabotage military surveillance? How are you and who do you think you are? Where are we and how did you infiltrate our security?"

"Surveillance?" Buffy growled lowly, cutting the General off mid-rant and sending tingles of warning down his spine. "You had us under military surveillance?"

"Now, calm down, kid." Whistler broke in. "It's not what you think."

"It's _military surveillance_, Whistler!" Buffy shouted. "How could it _not_ be what I think?"

"Buffy Summers, meet Samantha Carter." He said grandly, gesturing between the two. "Your mother."


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Buffy was completely thrown. She _knew_ that her mouth was hanging open in complete and absolute shock. She stared at the women that she had overlooked when she attacked Whistler, and said the first thing that popped into her head.

"My mother is a DEMON?!?"

Sam and Janet glanced at each other. They had considered that the Slayers would sense that Sam was different, but they didn't think that she was be considered a demon.

"No, no, she's not a demon." Whistler said hurriedly. "She's just had a little passenger for a while once. It left its mark when it died, but it's completely gone." He turned to the others. "If you're wanting them to sign those forms, you'd better talk fast."

It was then that they noticed the packets scattered on the floor between them, and Major Davis quickly gathered them together. Rifling through them quickly, he handed one to Buffy and one to Willow. After a moment's hesitation, he also handed one to Faith.

"Now, hold on just one damned minute, here." General Hammond demanded. "I want answers. I want to know where we are, who they are, and how we got here."

"Cool your jets, Grampa." Faith sneered, his attempt to retake control of the situation rubbing her the wrong way. He was the one trespassing on their turf. He had no right to make demands in her book.

"Enough." Whistler shouted, and the room unexpectedly vibrated. "Everyone calm down. I'll explain everything in a moment, but first we have business to take care of, Slayer."

"I'm not the Slayer anymore, remember?" Buffy said. "Shouldn't you be taking this up with Faith?"

"I'm taking it up with both of you." The Balance Demon answered. "I just came back from a little trip a few weeks into the future. Everything has settled, but The Powers were a little worried by some bad vibes that they were sensing. Apparently, the extent of The First's incursion into this dimension has offset the balance a little more than we originally thought, but it wasn't clear because of the upset caused by the re-emergence of the Turok-Han and the activation of all the Potentials. Because The First was able to become so powerful in this dimension, it has activated a second Hellmouth."

"What does that mean?" Buffy went completely still. "Am I back on the roster? And by the way, do you know what's happening to me?"

"No, you're not." Whistler assured her. "But it does pose a problem. The Powers have decided that another Slayer will have to be activated."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Faith asked warily. "That only happens when the old one dies."

"Usually, yeah," He nodded. "But this is a most unusual situation. The Line of Succession has to be able to pass down through the both of you, so The Powers will activate the Slayer themselves. If we kill Faith and have one of you bring her back, then the Line of Succession passes to the new girl, and when Faith does die, then there will be only one Slayer again. Besides, that would cause another abnormality that would allow The First Evil to try again."

"Actually, the problem is already being attended to." Said a new voice. It was a familiar one, but one that they hadn't heard since Sunnydale.

"Anya!" Buffy, Willow and Faith exclaimed.

"Hi." Greeted the ex-vengeance demon who _died_ in the battle with The First. "And before you start babbling or asking questions or trying to Slay me, let me take care of this first, then I'll explain."

Anya turned to Whistler, who was looked oddly shocked at her appearance. "Well, well, well, it's been a long time, Chatty Kathy. You know, I'm still not all that sure how you managed to talk me out of fulfilling that wish."

"Hello, Anyanka." The Balance Demon said a little nervously. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to have passed on."

"I did." She smiled, rather evilly in Sam and Buffy unspoken opinions. "I got a job offer that I just couldn't resist."

"You're not doing the Vengeance thing again, are you?" Buffy said sharply.

"No, I'm not a demon again." Anya paused for a moment, letting the anticipation build. "I'm an emissary of Osiris. Unlike The 'Almighty' Powers That Be, Osiris doesn't believe in dropping his Champion in an extreme situation without adequate help. Before we get down to business, why don't you tell us why you felt it necessary to bring these fine folks, Whistler, especially since it was you that intercepted the notice of Joyce's death."

Whistler swallowed audibly as a pair of blue eyes and a pair of hazel eyes shifted to him with lethal force.

"WHAT?!?" Buffy snarled.

"You did what?" Sam said in a low voice that scared Whistler even more.

Whistler kept his eyes on the former Slayer, taking an involuntary step back when she launched herself at him, only to be grabbed by Willow and Faith. He was so focused on her that he didn't see the fist that slammed into his jaw, knocking him off his feet. Janet, General Hammond and Major Davis watched in shock as Sam grabbed the demon by the lapels of his coat and yanked him to his feet. Faith, Willow and Buffy were watching with interest as well.

"You mean to tell me that you're the reason that I didn't know my best friend had died?" Sam snarled. "That my daughter was left to fend for herself and raise her sister alone? That she _died_ when we could have helped her?!? What kind of sick game are you people playing here?"

"Hold on, now, it's not like that." Whistler managed before he was interrupted.

"It's exactly like that, Whistler." Anya stated with her usual bluntness. "You're bosses have run Buffy through Hell. I once accused her of being stuck up because she was the Slayer, but it wasn't until I accepted this job with Osiris that I saw what being a Slayer was really all about. She was the greatest champion you had. She had the potential ridding the world of the worst of the demons before she finally died. You were just 'testing' her! Does she even know why? Do _you_ even realize how close she came to simply giving up down there in that pit?"

At that point, Whistler was starting to look decidedly uncomfortable, as Buffy was getting a suspicious look on her face. "What is she talking about, Whistler?"

"It seems that you're not the first Slayer to slip by Watchers." Anya said when Whistler didn't respond. "Unfortunately, that girl was a little off in the head, and soon began to use the fact that she was the only Slayer to her advantage, often threatening her Watcher to not attend to the demon problems just to get her way. So after that, The Powers began to frequently 'test' their Champions that had such a fierce independence as she did, to assure themselves that their Champions were focused on their duty. Although Whistler wasn't lying about Angel being a mistake and your mother being an accident, the rest was carefully set up by The Powers to keep you focused on your duty as a Slayer."

"Wait a minute." Sam interrupted. "What do you mean, Joyce was an accident."

"Buffy can explain later." Anya told her.

"Tests?" Buffy suddenly said, hoarsely. Everyone turned to see that she was pale and swaying shakily. "They were 'tests'."

"Hold on, now, Slayer." Whistler started.

"How much of it, Whistler? How much of it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for me?" There were tears in her eyes, but from anger or sadness, they couldn't tell. "Adam? Would Walsh have created him? Would Samantha have taken care of Dawn if you hadn't intercepted the letter? Would Tara have even died?"

"So, you're Buffy's mom, huh?" Faith whispered to Sam. The Air Force officers started in surprise. They hadn't seen or heard her approach. "I think she could use a mother-type right about now, don't you?"

Sam focused her attention back on her daughter. Carefully looking past the warrior's mask that Buffy had retreated behind, Sam realized that Buffy was on the verge of falling apart. Moving over to her quickly, she wrapped Buffy in her arms before the girl could react, ignoring the half-instinctive stiffening. Murmuring indistinct words of comfort, she held her like she had done with Cassie so many times before. Finally, Buffy's whole body shook with silent sobs as she buried her face in the crook of Sam's neck. Willow rubbed Buffy's back in her own gesture of soothing comfort while the others just stood by and watched. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Buffy managed to pull herself together and turned to face the Balance Demon once again.

Whistler couldn't look her in the eye. He had no answers to give her. He had tried to tell The Powers, over and over, that it was too much, but they refused to listen. They were convinced that the 'tests' that they subjected her too would not only keep her adhered to her duty, but strengthen her as well. Buffy looked devastated. She looked like something had been shattered inside of her, and it hurt the others to see it. Even Anya, who had been the most emotionally clueless person they had ever known, felt her heart break.

"We have other business to discuss right now." Anya said gently, changing the subject and bringing Buffy to a sudden full-body alert that the military officers had seen only in war veterans who had spent their lives on the front lines. "Whistler, you tell your bosses that what they are sensing isn't a new Hellmouth, it's a Nexus. By the time it is powerful enough to attract the demons who will be trying to destroy it, as opposed to trying to open it, there will be guardian in place."

"A Nexus?" Willow exclaimed. "A Nexus to what?"

"A Nexus of energies." Anya told her. "The First Evil's presence in this dimension caused more problems than you know. The First corrupted the natural energies of the Universe, and this Nexus has formed to counter it."

Whistler looked shaken. "By Osiris?"

"No, if I understand it right, it was formed by the Universe itself. It is supposed to draw in the corrupted energy left by The First, and return the energy to its neutral state. The energies can be tainted by the forces of good or evil, but complete corruption can have serious, long-term consequences. Problem is, this Nexus is painful whatever types it is effecting, and is incredibly powerful on its own. Because this one is drawing out evil energy, the demons are going to try to destroy it before it gets stronger." The Emissary of Osiris focused on the Balance Demon once more. "You never did answer my question. Why did you bring them here?"

"Ah, well, it's like this." Whistler said, shifting nervously. "I checked on them during my little stint in the future, and they were still exchanging letters and all so, since I was coming here anyway, I just thought I'd hurry things along."

"This isn't another game by The Powers, is it?" Buffy demanded. "Because if it is, your ribcage won't be the only thing I'll be ripping out."

"No, no." He said hurriedly. "This is all me. The Powers have nothing to do with this. I didn't want to intercept the letter back then, but I had no choice. This is my way of sort of making it up. I knew you'd be wary, especially after you found out that she was military."

"The Powers don't know that you did this, do they?" Buffy asked him.

"No, they don't." He answered, slightly embarrassed. "And they're not too happy with me about it. Once you left us, we're not really supposed to have any real contact with you, but I've always like you, so here they are."

Buffy stared at him for a long moment. She knew that she really couldn't blame him for carrying out his orders from The Powers. He had less of a choice than she did. "Thanks, Whistler. What about my other question? Do you have any idea what's happening with me?"

"That's actually Osiris' doing." Anya answered instead. "Your duties as His Champion are on a grander scale than a Slayer's job, and your being 'adjusted', for lack of a better term, to fit that role. You'll be a lot more reactive towards evil, in humans as well as the supernatural. Like those men you attacked the other night. They were fully intending to kill that woman, and had been responsible for several other rapes and murders, before you happened upon them. Now, they will be imprisoned and most of them are quite useless."

"What about Xander and Kennedy?" Buffy asked. "They weren't doing anything to deserve it."

"I love Xander, but he's an idiot sometimes." Anya said in a long-suffering voice that had Faith grinning. "Willow had guessed right. He panicked when you told him that the Slayers were returning to their previous state as Potentials. They really were talking about sending you on a vacation before you dropped that bomb on them. I thought your reaction _was _a little extreme, but I'm also surprised that you haven't snapped before now. As for Kennedy, can you really tell me that she didn't deserve that? Or that you hadn't wanted to do that since you met her? She's a selfish, self-centered little brat that needed to be knocked off that pedestal of hers. You did a marvelous job of doing just that, by the way. I, personally, hope she never becomes a Slayer, because she really doesn't have the sense of responsibility it entails."

"Now, hold on…" Willow started.

"She's right, Red." Faith interrupted her. "Kennedy doesn't have what it takes to be a Slayer, especially on her own. She could, as a part of larger group, where there would be someone to rein her in, but as the only one with all that strength and power, she's the type to quickly use it to her advantage. She too used to having it her own way, and I think she'd end up like that Slayer Anya was referring to. Exactly what The Powers were fighting so hard to avoid. In fact, up until the last few days, she's manipulated you rather well.

Willow's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"She worked you, Red." Faith told her quietly. "Maneuvered you until she had you ready to fall into her bed, then she pounced. I recognized it because I've had it happen to me by an old boyfriend, but you wouldn't listen to me when I tried to warn you. You could say that it's one of the reasons why I never liked her, even though we're a lot alike. Whatever is happening between you and B is coming at a real good time, 'cause it looks like she's getting tired of you and looking for a new challenge."

Willow looked like she had been slapped with a brick. She moved over to the bed and dropped onto it, staring blankly at the wall. Anya looked sadly at the witch. It seemed to be a day for bad news.

"What else, Anya?" Buffy said tiredly. She could tell that it wasn't finished.

"Your mental state will change first, as you've obviously noticed, but there will eventually be physical changes too. I don't know what they are, so don't ask me. Willow will change as well."

"What?" Buffy exclaimed. "Why?"

"The spell didn't just tie your lifeline to the Slayer Line," Anya told her. "It also merged her lifeline with yours. She's as immortal as you are, and she's also a Champion of Osiris. She has been since she performed the spell that brought you back, although she fell of the path when she tried to destroy the world, of course." Willow flinched, and Buffy shot the ex-demon a sharp look. "I'm not really sure what kind of changes will happen to her yet, but I do know that she's going to grow stronger."

Willow's next flinch was harder than the first, and Buffy broke away from Sam to sit next to her friend in support. "Why didn't Whistler tell us this the first time?"

"He didn't know." Anya shrugged. "He only knew what happened to you, Buffy, up until Sunnydale collapse. That's when you were transferred from The Powers to Osiris. He didn't even know that you had attacked those Humans until just now. He was not kidding when he said that they no long had anything to do with you. Just like I wasn't kidding when I said that you could have been their Greatest Champion. But they screwed up their chance, and now Osiris is going to make you the Champion you should have been all along."


	11. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

"Hey, wait a minute." Faith suddenly exclaimed. "Why haven't the others broken the door down yet? We haven't exactly been quiet in here."

"He sealed the room." Anya said, gesturing at Whistler. "I guess he didn't want any interruptions. He did something else, but I can really tell what."

Everyone looked at Whistler, who shrugged. "When you leave, only a few minutes will have passed anyone outside this room."

"A few minutes?" Sam said, shocked. "We've been in here for almost an hour!"

"Yeah, well, we needed to get some things settled, and like she said, I didn't want any interruptions." He told her.

On the bed, Buffy and Willow ignored the others as Sam tried to badger the physics of what he had done out of the Balance Demon.

"Are you all right, Will?" Buffy asked.

"I can't be immortal, Buffy." Willow whispered. "I'm no Champion. I can't do what you do."

"You don't have to. You just do what you always do, Will." Buffy told her. "Watch my back. We're in this together, just like we always have been. You'll never have to do this on your own."

"But, immortal?" Willow continued. "And-and more powerful? I don't want to be immortal. I don't want to get more powerful. I'm terrified of the power I already have. What if something happens and I go over the edge again? Xander barely stopped me the last time. If I'm immortal and it happens after he dies, who's going to stop me again?"

"You won't." Buffy stated confidently. "You know the consequences of having that much power now. You didn't really comprehend it before, and those were really special circumstances. Tara was a part of you, and she died in your arms. People have done much worse under circumstances like that, even if we don't know about them. We'll go to the Coven, and you'll learn the control that you need. If your changes are gradual like mine are, then you'll grow into the power as it develops instead of it overwhelming you like the last time."

"I'm scared." Willow finally choked out.

"I am, too." Buffy admitted. "We'll get through this, though. That much I have no doubts about." She hugged Willow and smoothed a lock of hair behind her friend's ear. "All right now?"

"How long have they been together?" Sam asked Faith as they watched the Slayer and the witch talk quietly.

"They're not." Faith smirked.

Sam was surprised, and her expression showed it clearly. They gave off the impression of a well devoted couple.

"Yeah, I know." Faith said. "Kinda obvious, ain't it? They've never been a couple, though."

"I never realized it before," Anya added. "but they fit together really well. It's almost like they were made for each other, but had to grow into it. I've seen it happen before."

"What else do we need to know, Anya?" Buffy suddenly asked, interrupting their conversation.

"Nothing much really." The ex-demon answered. "You're aggressiveness is going to spike, and you'll be more impulsive in your reactions until you learn to control your instincts. Willow's mental control balances that out, and your aggressiveness will calm in her presence. On the flip side of that, you're immune to Willow's powers, so she can take her own aggression out on you without hurting you. Beyond that, I can't tell you anything else. You're not supposed to know everything before your ready, and most of it you're supposed to figure out on your own. I'm your link to Osiris. I pass on any information that He decides you need."

"You're a Seer?" Willow asked.

"Not a chance. I'd never be a Seer." Anya laughed. "I'm just a glorified messenger. He tells me what he wants you to know, and I relay it. In return, I get to live again. I can have a life with my Xander and, when he dies, I can choose to pick a replacement and join him."

"Do we still need Whistler?" Anya shook her head, and Buffy turned to demon. "Whistler, it's time for you to go. Thank you for bringing my mother, but right now, I can't deal with you, or The Powers. Tell them that it ends now. I don't care how powerful they are. If they continue to torture Slayers in the future, I _will_ find a way to get to them, and then they'll pay."

"Now, hold on, Slayer." Whistler began. "You can't threaten The Powers That Be."

"Yes, I can. And what's more, I'll find a way to fulfill that threat." Buffy told him, her voice diamond-hard. "I'll be keeping an eye on them, and I'll know. Slayer's have enough problems with their enemies without having to worry about their bosses. Your 'tests' aren't what kept me fighting. I fought for my family and my friends, and because I was the only one who could. If I was the type they were so afraid of, if I had known what they were doing to me, I would have quit working for them like I quit working for the Watcher's Council."

The Slayer and the Balance Demon stared at each other for a long moment, before he finally nodded and backed away. "All right, Slayer. I'll pass it along. I want you to know, that I tried to get them to stop. I can't tell you what The Powers interfered with, but I can tell you that _I_ am sorry."

"I know, Whistler." She accepted his apology and he vanished. Instantly, they could hear voices rising downstairs as former Slayers all tried to talk to Giles at the same time.

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

Sam stood out on the balcony as she tried to make sense of everything she had just learned. Major Davis and General Hammond were in the room making calls to the SGC base in Colorado Springs and to the Pentagon, assuring everyone that they were fine and attempting to explain how the had simply disappeared from the most heavily secured facility on the planet. Willow and Faith had gone downstairs to fill the others in on what had happened, and Anya had gone with them to be rejoined with her boyfriend. She remembered hearing a male voice shout the woman's name in an odd mix of shock, delight and wariness. Janet had taken Buffy into the bathroom to take closer look at Buffy's wound when she noticed blood soaking through the back of the girl's shirt., so Sam had decided to take this opportunity to attempt to put some order to the chaos of information crowding inside her head.

She realized that reading about her daughter's life was a lot different than hearing it said out loud. She couldn't remember ever being so angry at the thought of what Buffy and her friends had suffered through in their lives. Children shouldn't have to live like that. They should be thinking that they have all the time in the world, not that they might not live through the night, or worse. She recalled Buffy's face when she found out that a lot of those trials were set up by the very people she worked for. It was like finding out that General Hammond had conspired with the Goa'uld to torture SG-1 just to make sure that they could withstand the torture. It was a betrayal that had to cut deep and would probably never heal. In her heart, she knew that if Buffy was forced to make good on her threat, that she would do everything in her power to help.

"Colonel Carter." Sam turned to see Major Davis standing in the doorway. "I'm off to Washington to give my report to the President of what just occurred." Sam didn't like the sound of that, and it shows. "Don't worry, Colonel. Oral report only. From my mouth to the President's ears. None of this will even be printed on a single sheet of paper. President Hayes is determined that there never be another catastrophe like The Initiative, and God forbid any of our other enemies learn of the Slayer."

Sam was relieved. "What are our orders?"

"That's up to the General, I believe." The Major answered. "He's speaking with the President now, but I have a plane waiting for me at the airport. I can tell you this, however. In light of this new information, Miss Summers and Miss Rosenberg are authorized to know whatever they wish regarding the Stargate Program. Mr. Giles and Miss Lehane are limited to need-to-know information. If they are classifying the Goa'uld as demons, it would be wise for them to be able to reach us if they sense another on Earth. If you or the General can find out what their intentions are, we can plan accordingly."

"I'll see what I can do." Sam assured him.

Davis nodded. "Good luck, Colonel."

She watched him leave the room, then turned her gaze back to the ocean view. She had thought that her fight against the Goa'uld had left her prepared for anything, but the knowledge that there were worse things than the Goa'uld left her discombobulated, especially considering the fact that those things were right on her own planet. Vampires and Werewolves, demons and monsters. Children grew up terrified that those things were hiding under their beds or in their closets, and as they grow up, they are taught that those things weren't real. That magick doesn't exist and good and evil are relative concepts to justify a person's actions. She wondered if children actually saw the monsters that they were so scared of when they were young, or if it was genetic memory working to keep them alive and out of the dark places where those monsters dwelled.

"Sam?" Janet stepped up next to her.

"How is she?" Sam asked quietly.

"Considering what she told me of the wound, she's doing exceptionally well." Sam turned to her friend, the question obvious in her eyes. "That demon fellow told her that her insides had been sliced up, and that if she hadn't already been made immortal, it would have killed her almost immediately."

Sam's face paled beneath her tan and she gripped the handrail to keep from falling to her knees. She felt sick as she realized how close she came to losing her only child. She had always intended to explain things to Buffy when she turned 18, but by then, she had been in the Stargate Program, and had become a well known enemy of the System Lords, and had decided that Buffy was better off with Joyce. Even if she died on a mission, there was a letter in a safe deposit box addressed to Buffy, but she never, never thought that she might outlive her child. Realizing that she had nearly lost that chance, Sam suddenly needed to tell Buffy everything.

"But now?" She finally managed to ask.

"I had to re-stitch it, but the wound is healing." Janet assured her, leading her shaky friend to a chair. "I would say it was healing slowly, but considering the fact that a wound like that would normally require hospitalization and several months to heal, I'm forced to admit that it's actually healing extremely fast. At that rate of progress, she can probably have the stitches removed in a week or two."

"Where is she?"

Now Janet looked irritated. "She had me bandage the wound, then she told me that she was going to downstairs to shut those brats up because they were giving her a headache. I told her that she needed to rest, and you know what she said? That resting was the last thing she'd be doing if she was forced to lie down. Doesn't she realize how serious that wound is? She needs to be resting, not moving around trying to control a bunch of teenagers!"

"Kennedy, do I have to knock your ass out, _again_!" They suddenly heard Buffy shout from downstairs. "Everyone shut the hell up!"

"What do you think?" Sam asked her friend as they listened to Buffy issue orders like a seasoned General. "I mean, about everything that's happened and what we've just learned."

"Honestly?" Sam nodded. "I think that Buffy life has been hell, and I'm frankly surprised that she's survived this long with her sanity. I would have expected anyone who has gone through what she has, to suffer from PTSD at the very least, but she seems to be able to compartmentalize her experiences like a veteran soldier. There is a weariness in her eyes that frightens me, though. If she really has been fighting non-stop since she was called, I think she's going to need a break, and fairly soon, before she breaks completely."

"Damn." Sam sighed. "I was hoping that I was imagining that."

Janet shook her head. "I would suggest that she talk to someone, but I don't think that would be a wise idea. If it was one of the SG team members, I would suggest at least 2 or 3 months of leave, especially after what she was told today."

"Is that your professional assessment, Major?" General Hammond asked. He had been standing in the balcony door, unnoticed, as the two women spoke.

"Yes, sir, it is." Both women surged to their feet as Janet answered. "I am sure that she will need time away in any case. If her aggressive her impulses are getting stronger as she was told, then she will have to get away from anything and anyone that could trigger them impulses until she learns to control them."

The General looked thoughtful. "Well, the President has been briefed on what we have learned here, and has requested that the two of you act as liaisons between Miss Summers and the SGC in the hopes of enticing her to work with us in our fight against the Goa'uld since she is no longer bound to her previous duties to Earth. I will be staying here for today to make the first overtures and make the initial proposal."

"Sir?" Sam asked.

"The President wants Miss Summers in the Stargate Program, Colonel." General Hammond said flatly, clearly not happy. "He hopes that she can provide alternative methods of combating Anubis' super soldiers in a more effective measure. She has experience with opponents that are naturally immune to the standard weapons and has managed to defeat them all. He wants the SG teams, especially SG-1, trained in bladed weapons as he has discovered that her usual method of dispatching such enemies is mainly decapitation."

Sam dropped into the seat again at the thought of her daughter running around chopping the heads off of things. Then she thought about it. Chopping the heads off of things that were trying to kill her and destroy the world. She supposed it would have balanced out if it hadn't been her child. Then, for the sake of her own sanity, she simply stopped thinking about it and turned her attention back to the General.

"The President has requested that the both of you remain with Miss Summers and Miss Rosenberg while SG-1 is still sidelined." He told them. "Talk to them, get to know them, and see if they are interested in working with us."


	12. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

A loud crash and a cry of pain had the three officers running down the stairs. What they saw stopped them in their tracks. Buffy was standing in the middle of the room in front of a kneeling brunette that was clawing at the hand gripped around her throat.

"Kennedy, I'm going to tell you one last time." Buffy snarled. "I have had a bad morning. Now _is not_ the time to be pissing me off. Do yourself a favor and go find a shady spot and keep your damned mouth closed. Understand?"

The brunette sneered in rebellion, then gasped as the hand tightened. "I said, do you understand?"

She finally nodded. Buffy tightened her hand a bit more just to make sure, then released her to look up at the others. "The rest of you, get yourselves together. We've got some unexpected guests, and we've got plans to make."

No one else moved as the taller brunette scrambled across the room, rubbing her throat. She looked around to the others, but found no one willing to meet her eyes, not even Willow. She half-listened as Buffy introduced Sam, Janet and the General, then was as shocked as the others when the blonde introduced each girl by name.

"Umm, Buffy, they're military." Xander spoke up. "Didn't we have enough problems with the last military group that knew about us?"

"Sam's my mother, Xander." Buffy informed him. "She's been looking for me, and I was already planning to look for her. We would have been dealing with them anyway. Besides, Whistler is the one that brought them here, so I think they might be okay. At the very least, we know that these people can handle it."

"On the contrary, Ms. Summers," General Hammond said. "We will not be getting involved with your world at all. Instead, we would possibly like your help with our situation, if you would be willing."

"Depends on what exactly you need help with." Buffy said, helping herself to the food as it was set on the table. "Help yourselves. We don't usually fix for the whole group, so I'm sure Andrew made more than enough."

"Is there somewhere that we can speak a little more privately?" The General requested. "This _is_ highly classified information, after all."

Buffy looked at them with a raised brow, obviously considering. Finally, she nodded. "Sure, grab your plates and let go into the study. Willow can shield it so that no can hear anything. Not even your _surveillance._"

The General didn't respond to the barb. Instead, he nodded to his officers and they grabbed plates and followed Buffy into another room, along with Willow, Faith and Giles. Buffy set down her plate and left the room and they could hear her speaking with Xander and Dawn. When she returned, General Hammond looked around at the people gathered. "Ms. Summers, I know that we have given clearance folder to you, Willow and Faith, but until we get clearance for Mr. Giles, he cannot hear this."

"You must be kidding." Buffy said. "Anything you tell us, we're just going to tell him anyway."

"Ms. Summers..."

"Look, your secrets are no bigger than ours, and obviously we kept those." She interrupted. "So, what's the problem? Do you really think we're gonna on prime time news with this stuff?"

General Hammond looked discomfited. Unfortunately, everything that she'd said was true. "Regardless, I will want those papers all signed. I will have the documents for Mr. Giles' signature here by morning."

"Sure." Buffy agreed and sat down to eat. "So, what's the sitch?"

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

Robert Kinsey sat back in his chair as he considered the dossiers he had been looking over. His contact in Thailand had been in charge of possibly recruiting mercenary outfits to fulfill his plans of acquiring the Slayer's pet witch. Out of the 50 possibilities, both human and non-human, only 3 had been willing to listen to his proposition after discovering the identity of the target. Half had refused to make an enemy of the Red Witch, as she was known in the supernatural world, and the others had refused on the basis that the Slayer had already defeated the most highly successful and ruthless assassin organization in both the natural and supernatural world. The contact noted that two of them demanded nearly triple the proposed fee, and the third, while accepting the stated fee, was obviously looking for the glory behind such a lucrative capture.

After considering his options, he sent a message to his contact to negotiate the price to halfway between his price and their price for the first two and attempt to hire all three. He had enough accessible money to fund this himself, and when he had the witch under his control, he fully intended to make all pay for disregarding his vision.

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

"Wow, aliens are real?" Buffy asked wide-eyed.

"You made a stable wormhole?" Willow squeaked at the same time.

"Oh dear Lord." Giles began rubbing his glasses.

"You made a stable wormhole?" Willow said again.

Sam had just finished telling them about the Stargate Program, and what they did.

"So if you've already taken out the Big Bad, then what do you need me for?" Buffy asked, getting over her shock. After all, she had seen stranger things.

"Well, Anubis has been destroyed, yes," The general said. "but the Goa'uld under him are still at large. The Super Soldiers are still a danger, and the President thinks that your style of fighting would be effective against them."

"You mean you want to see if swords and crossbows will work where your bullets and ray guns didn't."

"Correct. The President also wants to know if you would be willing to train our soldiers on the use of the more primitive weapons that you excel at."

"Wait a minute." Willow interrupted. "Buffy, what about taking a break? That's what you wanted to do yesterday, remember?"

"Actually, that's also what Janet suggests." Sam intervened. "The General has also given us leave to take some time to remain with you for a while so that we can get to know one another. If you don't mind me asking, what do you plan to do?"

"Before I can do anything, we've got to get the new council up and running." Buffy said. "We've got to find a safe place to set up shop. Somewhere that we can hide and that has no affiliation with any country. I seriously doubt that the original council was limited to Englishman considering that the girls came from all over the world. We need someplace that can be considered neutral territory. After that, I was thinking about taking a trip to Coven in Devon. I think they might be my best bet for getting a handle on this thing. What do you think, Will?"

Willow nodded. "If I'm going to get more powerful, then I'm going to have to go to the Coven."

Giles looked up. "What's this about you getting more powerful?"

"We got some news from Whistler and Anya when they showed up." Buffy told him, relaying everything they had been told earlier.

To say that Giles was shocked would be a major understatement. He was on his feet, pacing back and force, rubbing his glasses so furiously that Sam wondered if there would be hole in them when he finally stopped. "A Nexus? Oh, bloody hell, a Nexus, here."

"Mr. Giles," General Hammond spoke up. "I take it from your reaction that this is not a good thing?"

Giles shook off his shock and focused on his surroundings. "Well, not necessarily. It's just that this is the rarest of phenomenons. The only other reported Nexus was when the Pact of Sineya."

"Sineya?" Buffy suddenly straightened. "The First Slayer."

"Sineya wasn't the first Slayer." Giles informed her. "Sineya was one of The Nine. The most powerful of the Neutrals."

"The Nine?" Sam asked. "What are Neutrals?"

"The Nine were the powerful forces ruling the Earth before Humans gained control. There were three Demons, the Angelics and The Neutrals. The First was strongest of the Demons. The First decided that it wanted all the power and killed one of its compatriots, two of the Angelics and two of the Neutrals. Sineya was the strongest of the Neutrals. She fought The First to a standstill, but was fatally wounded in the process. After that, the remaining Supernatural forces banded together to finally defeat their weakened enemy, but in the process, they weakened themselves enough that the Human were able to banished them from this dimension. The Shadowmen found Sineya during the uprising. She was already dying, and when the the vampires began multiplying, they asked for her help to create a Champion. She offered them her essence to bind with the feral girl that they had captured, because one of them had 'seen' what was coming. Sineya told them to feed the girl her heart's blood when she died. In return, they would care for her, and all others who received the power after her." He settled back in his chair in full teaching mode. "At the moment of her death, her power merged with the universe to form the first Nexus. It cleansed the Earth of both good and evil influence, leaving it completely neutral, and allowing Humans to decide on their own. It essentially gave birth to free will. It is what allowed the Humans to finally take a stand against their masters and drive out the final Demon of The Nine as well as the other pure Demons remaining in this dimension."

"What about the last Angelic?" Janet asked, intrigued despite herself.

"There is no record of what happened to it." Giles told her.

Willow opened her laptop that she had previously set up in the room the day before, excited about this information and eager to dig for more. Logging in, she noticed something odd. "Umm, Giles, you might want to come and look at this."

"What is it, Willow?" Giles asked.

"I think it's the Council's records."


	13. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

"Negotiations are complete, sir." The shadowy image of his contact appeared on the screen of Robert Kinsey's state-of-the-art satellite link. "Although they have requested an extended timeline. Challenging the Slayer is not something that they are willing to do without an adequate plan."

"Very well." Kinsey nodded. It had been three weeks since the initial contact, and the three groups and his contact had been haggling ever since. "Set up the transfers for the deposits and tell them that I want the witch no later than 30 days after receiving it. The group that delivers her to the rendezvous point first receives the rest of the payment."

"Yes, sir."

"You've kept my name out of it, I trust?"

"No names were mentioned at any time, sir." The contact said, his tone almost indignant. "Once the witch has been delivered to the rendezvous, no trace of her further transition will be possible, and she will be secured in your facility within 5 hours."

"Good." Kinsey leaned back in his chair, pleased. "That's very good. Keep me posted."

"Very well, sir." The screen went completely dark as the contact signed off.

"Oh, yes." Kinsey sneered out into the empty room. "I'll show them all."

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

"Are you sure, Willow?" Giles sputtered, moving around behind the younger woman to peer over her shoulder.

"Yeah, but I don't know how they got accessed." Willow admitted. "I didn't do it. The Council had some really serious blocks on their accounts. Hell, I think some were even magical."

_ding. _**TheTriumvirate wishes to chat with you. Allow?**

Willow looked over at Giles. "The Triumvirate?"

Giles looked unsettled. "They're a myth."

"Well, I'm gonna allow it." Her fingers flashed over the keys before directing her mouse to the YES button. "See what they say. If nothing else, I can set up a trace and see where they're contacting us from."

**Greetings to the Slayer and the Red Witch.** Was the first entry. **We are aware that you will have questions, and in time, we will answer them. Until then, please accept the use of the Council's funds in your endeavors to 'pick up the pieces', as you younglings would say. We will be in touch.**

The messenger was gone before Willow could respond. A quick check showed that her tracer had been sent out into space. Literally.

"Did you get the trace?" Buffy asked, watching over her shoulder.

"No, I didn't get anything." Willow answered absently, her fingers flying over the keys. "Whoever they are, they're good. I didn't get so much as a signal blip. It's like they weren't even on the net."

"Giles, who are The Triumvirate?" Buffy turned to her Watcher. "You said something about a myth."

"The Triumvirate were supposedly the three Shamans that made the Pact with Sineya." Giles told them. "But it has never had any factual basis, and even if there were, this can not possibly be the true Triumvirate. The Pact of Sineya was made at the beginning of man's dominion of the Earth. There is no way the Shamans are still alive."

"Giles, you know better than that." Buffy tsked. "I mean, look at the Guardians. How old were those women?"

Giles cleared his throat and began cleaning his glasses. "I suppose that you have a point."

"So if they are the real guys, why are they helping us now?" Buffy dropped into a chair. "Where were they when we needed help with The First? Oh, and, can we find them, cause I've got a bone to pick with them."

"Regarding?" Giles asked warily.

"Well, you said that the Pact stated that they were supposed to care for the Slayers, but if they've been around all this time, why did they let the Council get away with all of that?"

Sam, Janet and the General watched with interest as the blonde argued with the older Englishman. Faith ended it by hitting Buffy in the forehead with a piece of bacon. After a brief tussle that left them both laughing like the best of friends, Buffy and Faith finally pulled themselves together and put themselves back in their seats. The group talked a little while longer, making plans regarding the Potentials as well as Buffy & Willow.

When they finally left the study, Xander, Dawn and Kennedy were waiting for them.

"So, what happened?" Dawn asked. "What's going on?"

"Dawn, meet Samantha Carter." Buffy introduced. "My mother."

"Hi." Dawn held her hand out to shake. Sam shook it, a little surprised at how easily the girl accepted this sudden change in her life. "So, are we going with you?"

"No, Dawn." Buffy answered. "We're going to use the council funds to create a school for Potentials. Someplace where they can train in case they're ever Called, and a place where they can get an education, so that they can exist in the human world if they don't get Called. No more isolating them from the world."

"What about the Council?" Xander asked.

"We're gonna need one of those too. I figure, Giles could be the head of the Council, which would sponsor the school, and Wood can be the dean of the school."

"Where is Wood, anyway?" Faith asked. "How'd he sleep through all this?"

"He said that he had business to take care of and left sometime yesterday." Xander told her. "Said to let you know that he'd be back in a day or so."

The brunette's eyebrow rose in idle curiosity, but dismissed it. She had other things to worry about now. "Where do we start? I know you guys wanna get on the road."

"On the road?" Dawn squeaked.

"You guys?" Xander said at the same time.

"Some issues have come up and Buffy and Willow are going to have to spend some time with the Coven in Devon." Giles told them. "Sam and Janet have chosen to take some time off from their jobs and travel with them so that Sam can get to know Buffy better."

"Y-you're leaving?" Dawn froze. She knew that they had talked about it, but the reality of it actually happened chilled her. She had never realized how much she depended on her older sister until she was gone. She had forgotten that, probably intentionally, until Buffy was gone again. It was worse the second time, because she had thrown her sister out. Now there was this rift between them that she didn't know how to get across.

"Dawn?" Buffy looked at her curiously.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Buffy." Dawn's voice was weak and shaking. "I know th-things have b-been bad, and you p-probably don't believe m-me, but I don't w-want you t-t-to go away again." She took a deep breath, trying to control herself. "I'm sorry we kicked you out. Please don't leave me."

Buffy pulled her sister into her arms and hugged her closely. She had never really spoken about that time, other than when she'd blown up at them the other day. She hadn't really expected apologies. None of them were really good at those, and for the most part, they generally weren't needed. It was a given fact that their emotions ran high during apocalypses. This had been more than they'd ever done to one another, and the various apologies settled over open wounds deep inside of Buffy that she hadn't even realized was there.

"Dawnie, look at me." Buffy took her by the chin. Dawn's tear filled eyes lifted. "I wish I didn't have to go, but you saw what I did to Xander and Kennedy. I did even worse to some men the other night. Humans, Dawn. They were bad people, yes, but they were still human. If Anya is right, whatever is happening to me will get worse before it gets better, and I won't take the chance that I might go off on someone else, especially you. You'll know where I am, and you'll be able to reach me whenever you want."

"And Willow?" Dawn asked.

"Willow's getting more powerful." Buffy said simply. Dawn, Xander and Kennedy gasped, and Sam, standing off to the side, saw a speculative gleam in Kennedy's eyes as she gazed at the blushing redhead. "She wants to go to the Coven so that it doesn't overwhelm her like the last time."

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

Underground facility in another country

"All right, ladies, we got the contract, but so did our competition." Announced a dark-skinned man with a scar bisecting his right eye to group of men and women. "The target is a young woman named Willow Rosenberg." A click of a projector brought up a picture of a smiling redhead. "She is twenty-two years old, but should be considered extremely dangerous. We all know what lurks in the dark. She's a _big_ player in that world. Additionally, she's protected by the _biggest_ dog in that particular yard." Another click showed a brightly smiling blonde. "This is the woman that defeated the Order of Taraka. She's on the black 'Do Not Touch' list of every organization in the world. We have absolutely no friends in this. Our plan _must_ be perfect. I want to hear any and all ideas. Ask any question you think of, no matter how stupid. I'd rather have a dumb question lead to a brilliant answer than miss something completely."

"Time frame, sir?"

"Thirty days from receipt of advanced funds."

"Objective?"

"Get the girl to a predetermined rendezvous point _without_ being tracked down or captured. After that, disappear so that all traces lead nowhere."

"Dead or alive?"

"Alive, by any means necessary. We will be supplied with a neurotoxin that will put the Rosenberg woman into an induced coma. After she is picked up, the remainder of the funds will be transferred into the account and we will have no further contact with our employers."

They knew better than to ask about identities, even if they'd rather have a name to bargain with if they were captured. The last person to make such a request was immediately shot in the head.

"Ideas, people." The dark-skinned man ordered. "Make them good."


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

"Hey, Giles, look at this." Willow shouted from the study. She had been going through the Council records that had been mysteriously made available for the last week. She had initially gawked at the available funds that the Council had had access to, had found the scanned copies of deeds to property all across the world that the Council owned, but what she had just uncovered trumped all of that.

Giles, who had been in kitchen making himself a cup of tea, sighed and rolled his eyes. _One day, they will figure out that I am not deaf_, he thought to himself. "What is it, Willow?" He asked in a moderately level voice.

"The Council owned an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with complete autonomy. It's not bound by any laws of any government in the world."

Giles nearly choked on his tea. Grabbing a towel to dab at his shirt, he quickly made his way into the other room. "What did you say?"

Willow glanced up at him before returning her attention to her laptop. "It's one of the files that was sent to me, but not from the Council databases. There's an island, out in the middle of the Pacific ocean that was claimed by The Triumvirate who, according to the other files, are the ones who founded the Council of Watchers. As the Council became more and more corrupted and insular, they slowly faded out of the wood-works, making sure most of the knowledge of them disappeared as well. They've been watching and tracking the progress of the Council and the Slayers, waiting for a time to reveal themselves once again, but only to someone that they considered worthy."

"Oh, dear Lord."

"Holy crap!" Willow suddenly squealed, her eyes going comically wide.

"What is it now?"

"They have a record book of every Slayer and Potential that seems to update as they are born and activated." She looked up at the Watcher. "It updates magically, and even indicated who's next in line. They included a video file showing the names appear. Giles, that means that they knew about Buffy the minute she was born."

"They knew and they let me slip through the cracks?" Willow and Giles looked up to see Buffy standing the doorway. "Why? A lot of our problems could have been straightened out if we'd had someone on their side that we could trust. Then again, how do we know that we can trust them, either?"

"I guess we could ask them the next time they make contact." Willow shrugged. "I assume they sent this stuff because they feel that we are worthy enough for them to take a chance on. We could put the new Council Headquarters and training academy on the island."

"Island?" Buffy looked surprised. "What island?"

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

Buffy looked around as she drank her bottle of water. Things were coming along faster than expected. When they arrived on the island last week, they'd found the building for the headquarters. It was creepy, to say the least, until they found an office with Giles' name on the door and a folder with information on the desk.

Everything had been build and set up for their arrival since the fall of Sunnydale by the mysterious group calling themselves The Triumvirate. They'd been instantly suspicious. Buffy, Faith, Xander and Sam had went over every brick and stone with a fine toothed comb, but found no signs of sabotage or booby-traps. Willow and a few members of the Coven had gone over the entire island, and the only magic they could find were for shielding and defense. According to Willow, the magic was the strongest she had ever encountered. When Buffy heard that, she had a hunch and asked her mother to call the Air Force, to see if they could detect island with their technology. An hour later, she received a phone call from her bewildered General, informing her that, not only could they _not_ find the island, but the locator signal from her cellphone was not showing up on their tracking systems even though it was obvious that the phone was active.

Finally deciding that this had been set up for their benefit, and not as an elaborate trap, and praying that they're right and this doesn't come back and kick them in the teeth, they began setting up shop. The record book had turned up in what instantly became Giles favorite room. The underground chamber was filled, wall to wall, with the reference tomes that he'd assumed were lost in the explosion that destroyed the Council Headquarters in England. Giles ran his fingers over the aged spines almost reverently.

"So, now what?" She asked. They were all gathered in the den. "Where are we going to put the school?"

"We can't put it in Cleveland." Xander said immediately. "Demons would be attacking it every day."

"Not in LA." Buffy added. "Don't want to invade on Angel's turf. He's got that covered."

"What about Colorado?" Sam offered. "With the SGC at Norad, and the Air Force Academy nearby, there will be additional protection for the school."

"That's an idea." Giles said thoughtfully. "And with the things that you deal with, it would be beneficially to have an extra set of eyes and ears. Although, any land that we purchase will have to be considered the same as an embassy. As diverse as our organization will become, we cannot risk an international incident between governments. What happens on our lands is bound by our laws and our laws only, just as the old Council was."

"Hey, what if we do it like Hogwarts?" Dawn suddenly jumped up. "Send letters to the girls, inviting them to come to study."

Willow thought for a moment. "That could work. Treat the school like a prestige, by invitation only, type of academy. The only downside is that it would gain notoriety fairly quickly using that method."

"What about teachers?" Robin Wood asked. "I think we could probably get some Sunnydale vets in here."

Sam started. "As much as my superiors would hate me for saying this, I think you should consider bring in foreign teachers as well. Not all of these girls will be from the States, and they'd probably feel more comfortable with someone in a position of authority from their own homeland."

"That's a good point." Giles acknowledged. "According to some of the journals that Willow was kind enough to print from me to read, at one point, the Watcher's Council seemed to be spread worldwide until a about two centuries ago, when it was suddenly decided to withdraw support to the overseas houses and focus all energies on the Headquarters in England. About the same time, they started the doctrine of isolating the Slayers, so I can only assume that the two are interconnected."

"We'll have to set up some way to get cargo to the island." Xander pitched in. "Someone that we can trust, that we don't have to worry about selling us out to demons."

"We might be able to set up something." Sam offered. "Let me check with the general."

Buffy's brow lifted, but she nodded. "Wait a minute. Do we really want to make this a school?"

"What do you mean, Buffy?" Willow asked, confused.

"Well, if we do this, it'll involve girls from all walks of life, not to mention from all over the world." Buffy told them. "We'd need a valid, acceptable reason to suddenly be inviting them to a strange school in Colorado that suddenly pops up out of nowhere. I doubt most parents are like the ones in Sunnydale, just accepting whatever weirdness happens. They're going to want to know who runs the school, who's funding, and what makes their kids special enough to be invited there."

"She's got a point, Watcher-man." Faith agreed. "Not to mention, some people," She paused just long enough to raise her own hand. "don't like schools. Even if it was a 'privilege' to be invited, you'd never see me walk though the doors."

"So, what do you suggest?" Giles asked.

"A summer program." Sam offered after a moment. "Put out some sort of hidden message, so that the girls come to you instead of you going to the girls."

"That's a good idea, actually." Buffy realized. "With that book, we already know who's next in life if Faith falls, so we don't need to do hardcore training for all of them. If we make it a summer program that they can come to, voluntarily of course, then they'll at least be prepared if or when their name comes to the top of the line. That way, no one needs to be separated from their families, or switch schools."

"That still doesn't help with the international girls, though." Willow interjected.

"Set up one in every country, since you're going to put Council offices there anyway." Janet offered. "That would be easier than explaining why these girls should be coming to a foreign country."

"Yo, anyone heard from Rona, Vi and Kennedy?" Faith suddenly asked.

Willow nodded. "I spoke with them yesterday. That book on astral projection really helped. The demon population in Cleveland is growing, but their group can handle it for now."

"It's good experience for them, and a chance to use what they've been learning. Well, when we get back, we need to start rounding up the first of the girls." Buffy decided. "For now, we'll just be a training facility. School's about to be let out for the summer anyway, so we've got a little time to get things together. Giles, dig deep and see if you can find some of those allies the Council used to have. Sam, if you could get word to Major Riley Finn, we could get more contacts through him."

They continued making their tentative plans well into the night. The next morning, they all made their way down to the docks where the water helicopter was tethered. On loan from one of their contacts in the naval base in Florida, they had promised to have it returned in three days, and it was time for them to go. Faith and Wood would go to Cleveland, since that's where Faith would be stationed due to the Hellmouth, Giles was remaining on the island with Xander to get the unlived in Council building prepared for occupation, and Buffy, Willow and Dawn, along with Sam and Janet, were returning to LA to gather the last of their things and the rest of the girls. Many of the Potentials had been returned to their families, now that it was safe, but a few of them had no more family to return to. The Bringers had not been exactly quiet in trying to kill them, and at least three had had their whole families slaughtered in the process. A few of them had gone with the three oldest potentials, but most were still on light duty in LA under Angel's protection. They still stayed far away from Evil, Inc. Nothing Angel had said could convince Buffy that the Potentials would be safe at Wolfram & Hart, or any of their safehouses.

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

"Team One to Alpha." A voice crackled over communication lines. "The target has resurfaced."

"Good, Team One." Another voice responded. "Continue surveillance. Everything is in place, ready to go active at a moment's notice. Take her the moment she can be extracted without drawing attention. Disappearing off the map had severly affected our timeline."

"Affirmative. Team One out."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

"All right, Will." Buffy said, hugging her best friend in support. "Are you sure you don't want us to come with you?"

"I would _love_ for you to come with," Willow admitted. "but I should see them alone. They aren't comfortable with you, especially after the whole Hansel and Gretal thing. They've tried to avoid all things Sunnydale since then. They had refused to come back except to see me on my birthday."

"I know." Buffy sighed. "We'll see you in a few days, right?"

Willow nodded as she hugged Dawn. Buffy put Willow's overnight bag into the trunk of the cab and held the door as she got in. The Summers' sisters watched as the cab drove off down the quiet street, unaware of blue eyes watching everything.

_I swear those two couldn't become more of a couple if they actually tried._ Sam thought as she watched from the window. She sighed as she turned back to her own best friend. She knew exactly what her daughter was feeling. Everyone thought that it was Jack O'Neill that she wanted, but couldn't have because of military regulations, but it wasn't that simple.

"So, what do you think, Janet?" she asked.

"I like her." Janet answered simply. "I like them all. I'm thinking about calling Cassie to see if she wants to join this little road trip."

Sam smiled. "That's an idea. I think Dawn would really like another 'normal' girl around who's seen to much weird stuff."

"Normal?" Janet's brow rose.

The smile widened into a grin. "Okay, as normal as those two can get."

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

"Alpha Team to Base. Target has left safety zone to meet with parents in Sacramento Convention. Proceed with Phase One?"

"Negative, Alpha Team. Protectors will be expecting notification of arrival. Wait until target has left parents for the night. Revise plans accordingly."

"Acknowledged, Base. Alpha Team out."

"So, what's the plan, boss?" One of the men asked.

The team leader thought for a moment. "The girl has a history of dissension with her parents in regards to her beliefs and her sexual orientation. It is possible that there will be at least one major argument. If there is one, we take the girl that night and leave a forged note requesting time to calm down or some shit like that."

"And if they don't argue?"

"Then we take her on her way back. Grab her right after she leaves her parents. It will give us at least a minimum of 24 hours before her disappearance is noticed."

"That's cutting it close."

"Maybe, but it's unavoidable if they don't want a trail. We have to take her at a point where it will be some time before anyone notices that she's gone." He acknowledged. "Everyone get at least 8-10 hours of sleep. After her initial meeting with her parents, we're going to be on constant alert."

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

"Willow, are you all right?" Sheila Rosenberg hugged her daughter tightly as soon as she was completely out of the cab. "We just got back into the country, and discovered what happened."

"I'm all right, mother." Willow hugged her back. "We got out right before the collapse."

"Why didn't you contact us, young lady?" Ira Rosenberg asked gruffly. "We would have caught the first flight back."

Willow went through a quick list of possible excuses before sighing theatrically. "We didn't think that Sunnydale would really fall. I mean, something happens every year, right, and it usually turns out to be a false alarm. Xander and I though this one was too, and Buffy wouldn't leave without us. Thankfully, Buffy was prepared, so when the school went down, she forced us to leave."

"Willow Danielle Rosenberg." Her mother said chidingly. Even though she'd just told a bald-faced lie, Willow couldn't help but blush in embarrassment at the censure in her voice. "I must call and thank her properly."

"I'll tell her to expect your call." The redhead responded, knowing full well that they would forget before the morning. Although they spent most of their time on tour, Sheila and Ira Rosenberg had been born and raised in Sunnydale, and the instinct to dismiss or forget the oddities and weirdness of the small town was ingrained deep into their psyche. Unfortunately, that included Buffy. Willow suspected that they would forget about her if they didn't lover her so much and, despite evidence to the contrary, Willow knew that they did love her immensely.

"How..." Ira cleared his throat. "How is your 'friend'?"

Willow's heart nearly stopped. She forgot that they didn't know. "Tara died." Willow answered, the pain clear in her voice. "She was killed last year by a stray bullet."

"Oh, honey." Sheila hugged her again, this time in sympathy. They might not have like or approved of her lifestyle, but they had known that their daughter loved the shy blonde that she had introduced to them on their last visit. Despite their arguments, they'd found themselves liking the girl, and were truly saddened at her loss. "Are you all right?"

Willow nodded. "It was hard, but it's getting better."

"Come." Ira ushered them into the hotel. "Tell us what you have been doing since this tragedy."

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

"Looks like we're going with plan B, people." The team leader sighed. "From the sound of things, I doubt there's gonna be any convenient knock-down, drag-out fights between the little family."

He picked up a satellite phone from his desk and dialed quickly. "Beta Team, what's the situation there."

"Nothing new to report, Sir." A female voice answered. "Looks like they're packing things up for a permanent move."

"Notify me as soon as the target makes the call, and record the conversation. These two are very close, and we need to know if they plan to communicate every night."

"Affirmative, Alpha Team."

Disconnecting, he dialed another number. "Gamma Team, any sign of the competition?"

"Yes, sir." Came a cheerful answer. "We bumped into them as we were bugging the parents room in the hotel. Nabbed them and told hotel security that we caught them sneaking in and out of people's rooms. You know, they don't take too kindly to that sort of thing. Used their gear to track down the rest of them. Amateurs, the whole lot. They should be ashamed of themselves, it was so easy. They're all taking naps in one of the empty warehouses a couple miles from here. We left them food and drink and put a time delayed padlock on the doors. They'll be released in 36 hours."

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

"The deadline is almost upon us." Kinsey said to the shadowed figure on his screen. "I am tired of waiting."

"Sir, you gave the teams 30 days." The figure said. "They still have a week and a half left. If it is possible, the witch will be delivered."

Kinsey sneered in irritation. "Fine. Is the facility secure?"

"It is. The serum was delivered to the facility, and the IV drips are ready as soon as she arrives. The witch, Amy Madison, has also gathered her followers to control the power of the Red Witch and beat down her mental defenses."

"Can Madison be trusted?"

"No, Sir, but we have used some of the methods of the Initiative to ensure her obedience."

"Why can't we used those same methods on the Rosenberg girl?"

"Her mind is too strong, sir. We have to break her psyche completely before we can attempt to use those methods."

"Fine." Kinsey growled. "Just get it done. I want her under my control as soon as possible."

He ended the teleconference with a jab at his keyboard. He sat back in his seat and considered the progression of his plans. With a witch as powerful as the Rosenberg girl under his thumb, it would take little get rid of his enemies, even if O'Neill was currently in stasis under the ice in Antarctica. He'd make them all pay for his humiliations.

All of them.

Even the President.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

"Alpha Team to Base, target has been acquired."

"Roger, Alpha Team, good work. Head to rendezvous point and prepare package for delivery en route. We have no time for patting ourselves on the back. We need to drop the package off and disappear."

"Acknowledged. Alpha Team out."

The mercenary looked down at the smooth features of the red head strapped to the gurney. An IV drip was keeping her in an induced coma. Not for the first time, he wondered who would go to these lengths to kidnap her, and why. It didn't matter, he finally decided. They got paid for extraction and delivery. What happened after that was out of their hands. Even so, he couldn't quite dismiss the uneasy feeling in his gut.

"Let's get this over with, people." He said to the others. "I'm ready to go home."

They met up with the rest of their people and were immediately redirected to a private helipad where a specially outfitted helicopter was waiting for them. They transferred the girl quickly and watched as the helicopter disappeared into the horizon.

"So, what now?" Someone asked.

"Now, we disappear off the grid." Their leader said. "Things are gonna get hot real fast, and we don't want to be anywhere near it."

"Who was she, sir?" One of the younger ones asked. "I mean, what made her such a high-profile target? She certainly didn't look like much.

"Doesn't matter." He shrugged. "She's out of our hands now."

Three hours later, Kinsey stared through the window at the young woman strapped to the gurney in the isolation chamber. Still in the induced coma, she looked very young and very innocent, nothing the black-haired and black-eyed witch that nearly destroyed the world. The power gauges that she was hooked up to, however, where all completely lit up. It was the most astonishing thing he'd ever seen. Even Madison, the strongest witch they had yet found, was no where near the level of this girl.

"I want her broken as soon as possible." He ordered the doctors. "Use whatever means necessary."

"Yes, sir." The lead doctor answered, before turning to the other and giving orders to begin psychotropic drug treatment to weaken her mind's natural defenses.

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

"Hey, Buffy, are you all right?" Sam asked when she found her daughter leaning against a wall with her hand pressed to her temple.

"Yeah." Buffy muttered. "Just a little fuzzy headed. Head rush, I guess."

"We've been working for hours." Sam said. "Have you had anything to eat since breakfast?"

Buffy shook her head, straightening as the fuzziness faded. She gave Sam a smile. "Nope, just kinda wanted to get it all done. I want to leave as soon as Willow gets back."

"When is she due back?"

The smile widened exponentially. "Late tonight. I know she'll want to rest, so I planned to head out tomorrow afternoon. Most of the stuff is going into storage until we can get it out to Giles on the island, and the rest is being shipped to Cleveland. We're gonna go to check on the girls that are working with Angel and his crew, then we'll catch a flight to England."

"What about Dawn?"

"She can come with us." Buffy shrugged. "She can do the Internet home schooling over there just as easily as she can here. Probably better with you and Willow helping her. You're still going with us, right?"

Sam put her arms around her kid's shoulders, having grown comfortable with Buffy in the last few days. "Yeah, we're hanging around until we're recalled to the base."

Buffy liked Sam. While she wasn't exactly ready to lay down the 'mother' card just yet, she didn't mind being related to Air Force Colonel. She grinned mischievously. "So, what's up with you and Janet?"

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

Willow's body jerked in the bed. The drugs being introduced into her systems were having strange reactions in her mind, giving her vivid nightmares despite the induced coma. She felt trapped inside her mind, surrounded by thick black fog. She could senses something in the fog as it inched closer to her, something dark and dangerous. She screamed.

"_BUFFY!!!"_

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

Buffy jerked awake, her eyes flying to the clock next to her bed. It was nearly dawn. _Willow should have been here by now_, she thought. Unable to shake the uneasy feeling that had awakened her, she reached for her cellphone to call her friend. The phone rang six times before going to voicemail. Thinking that maybe she decided to stay another night, she called the hotel number that Willow had given her before she'd left. Heedless of the early hour, she_ had_ to know that her best friend was all right.

"Sacramento Marriott."

"Room 545, please." Buffy requested.

She heard the faint sound of computer keys. "I'm sorry, that room is vacant. Would you like to make a reservation?"

Worry was rising sharply in her chest. "Ah, no, thanks. Can you tell me when Ms. Rosenberg checked out?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to give out that information." The clerk answered.

"No, you're probably not, but she should have been home hours ago, and I want to make she didn't leave later than planned before I call the police since she isn't answering her cellphone."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I simply cannot give out that information. It's against hotel policy."

Buffy took a deep breath to calm down when she heard the phone creak in protest from her grip. "Okay, thanks." She said, hanging up. Something was wrong. She just knew it.

Jumping out of bed, she pulled on some clothes and made her way to Sam's room, only to find the Major already awake. "Hey, Sam, I think I need some help."

"What's wrong?"

"Willow should have been back by now." Buffy told her. "I called her hotel, but they said that her room was vacant. She's not answering her phone, and she always answers her phone. I know something's wrong. I can just feel it..."

"Whoa, Buffy." Sam grabbed her arms to still her pacing. "Slow down. Are you telling me that you think Willow's missing?"

Buffy was panting in anxiety, but managed to nod. "Willow gets kidnapped almost as much as Dawn does, that's why she always lets someone know when she's held up for something, and she always answers her phone."

"Is it possible that her phone battery is dead?"

Buffy shook her head quickly. "Willow's magic fills her body with excess energy, and she releases part of it by converting it to keep her electronics charged. Her cell is always on and at full power."

Sam blinked. That was something she'd never heard of. Her mind went off to the ways such a thing was possible, before Buffy shook her, recognizing the unfocused look in her eyes. "Focus, Sam. Willow. Missing. Help."

Her mother gave her a sheepish look. "Sorry, honey. Let me get me laptop."

Several hours later, with a little techno-magic of her own, Sam managed to track Willow's cellphone. "Every cellphone that is turned on sends out a signal looking for an available network whenever it loses the signal of the one it was previously on. With Willow's phone number, I found the last tower responded to the signal."

"Where?" Buffy asked impatiently.

"It looks like a small hospital outside of California City."

"So, let's go." Buffy jumped up, about to run out of the room.

"Hold on, Buffy." Sam grabbed her, eyes widening at the tension vibrating through her daughter. "We can't just run off without any type of intel. We don't know what's out there!"

"I don't care." Buffy said flatly. "Something's happened to Willow, and I'm going to go find her."

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

Kinsey watched at the girl screamed in fear and pain as the witches surrounding her tried to break through her formidable mental control and break down her defenses. More than once, she had cried out the Slayer's name, almost like a talisman against the minds attacking her. He gritted his teeth in frustration and anger as one of the male witches collapsed and began gibbering incoherently.

"How long is this going to take?" He demanded.

"There is no way to tell, Mr. Kinsey." The doctor answered. "Her mental training is very formidable. It is amazing, really. Whatever is hidden in the depths of her subconscious have already defeated two of the witches, rendering them hopelessly insane. The one that collapsed two hours ago is still screaming in the other room."

"I don't care about the weak-minded." Kinsey snapped. "I want her under my control. You've told me that she was too powerful for the inhibitor, so she must be broken, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"_Then break her!" _


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Buffy was nearly frantic. The other Scoobies had been called as soon as Willow's disappearance had been verified. While Sam had been trying to get a lock on Willow's cellphone, Buffy had managed to get in contact with Willow's mom, and found out that Willow had indeed left when she was supposed to. When Sam had narrowed down the cellphone location to California City, Buffy had ran out, jumped into the car and taken off without hesitation, leaving Sam to explain what was going on to Janet and her sister. When she reach California City, she called her mother and followed her directions to where Willow's phone was last tracked, then made her way to the closest demon bar. She had torn the place apart without a word, beat down every demon that had been there with the exception of the more helpful, peaceful species. Then she'd grabbed the bartender and dragged him over the top of the bar.

"Do you know who I am?" Buffy demanded, her voice low and dangerous.

The bartender nodded frantically, shaking in terror as he saw something shift in her eyes.

"Willow is missing. She was last tracked into this area. Someone had to have seen or heard something, and that person or demon had better get the information to me, or I will come back and tear California City apart."

Without turning, she ducked as one of the previously unconscious vampires swung a pool stick at her head. She caught it on the return swing, snapped it in half and shoved the broken end through the vampire's heart before he even realized that he'd lost his advantage.

That had been two days ago. When she'd returned home, Dawn had already called Faith in Cleveland, Giles and Xander on the island and even Angel in LA. Both Faith and Angel had put the word out to their contacts. Giles had tentatively opened himself up to the stores of magic in the island to transport Xander to LA and to attempt to locate Willow through magic. Faith had left Wood and Amanda in charge of her potentials, and caught the first flight out. She'd arrived shortly before Buffy.

This morning, something truly weird was happening. Buffy had awakened the whole house, screaming Willow's name. When Faith had burst into the room, full of adrenaline and aggression and ready to take out the threat, Buffy had jumped out of bed and had her pinned to the wall by the throat so fast the younger slayer didn't even have time to choke out a surprised cry. She froze as she got a good look at the blonde's eyes from the hallway lights. They were a weird amber and green color and she felt something press in on her mind, almost like it was weighing or judging her. She dimly realized that the others were hovering near the door, not daring to interfere.

"Faith?" Buffy said, her voice hoarse from the screaming.

"Yes, B, it's me." Faith whispered. "Can ya let me go? Kinda need my throat to keep breathin'."

Buffy released her and took several shaky steps back into the center of the room, wrapping her arms around her middle. "They're hurting her, Faith." With a groan, she dropped to her knees, pressing trembling fingers to her temples. "She's in pain and she's so scared. They're trying to break down her walls."

Dawn gasped, her quick mind immediately grasping the implications of her sister's words. Everyone who wasn't Buffy turned to look at her. "Someone is trying to break through Willow's mental defenses. It would be the only way to control someone as powerful as she is, but her defenses are a part of her control over her magic. Whoever is doing this could unleash Dark Willow again."

They were distracted by a knock at the front door. Xander went to get it, and brought back a small, waifish demon child, who looked terrified.

"Kid's got information." Xander said, his goofy personality had been completely missing since finding out that his best friend in the whole world had vanished.

"Harry the Bartender said that one of the K'Tecsh demons saw a black government helicopter land at the hospital and soldiers in plain clothes surround it until a white van showed up." The kid whispered. It was obvious to them that he was concentrating on getting the message out correctly. "A redhead was strapped to a gurney with an IV drip was loaded onto the helicopter and they took off immediately. The van was driven into the woods, met up with three black SUVs and was torched."

"What's a K'Tecsh demon?" Faith asked.

"It's an energy demon." Dawn said. "They feed off of human suffering. They usually make nests near medical hospitals, close to ERs and Trauma wards, and mental hospitals."

Sam, however, had phased out the rest of the conversation almost as soon as 'government helicopter' was mentioned. This was more her field than theirs, and she had her own contacts. Besides, she knew that she had to derail any thoughts that they might be involved before it occurred to Buffy. In her state, she might think that they had used her own connection as a way to get to Willow, and that would cause all kinds of problems. Moving slowly, she knelt beside her daughter.

"If someone in the government was behind this, I'll find them. No one knew about us other than the President, the General and Major Davis, and they wouldn't authorize anything like this."

"That's not true." Buffy whispered.

"What?" Sam asked, worried. Had she already decided that they were guilty?

"The Initiative people." Buffy whispered. "They know all about us, and not all of them died."

Faith heard her. "The Initiative. You think those guys had something to do with it? I thought they were disbanded or whatever."

Sam looked up at Janet. "Not the Initiative," She realized. "The NID."

After they had gotten Buffy a little calmer and more focused, they all went off to make phone calls. Dawn called Giles to give him an update, Faith called Angel to do the same. Sam, using the government issued cellphones for a more secured line, called General Hammond, requesting that he get in touch with Major Davis and Riley Finn.

"I haven't been able to locate Willow's magic signature." Giles told Dawn "It's almost as if something is blocking it."

"Then don't focus on hers." Dawn thought for a moment. "There are very few people in the world that are strong enough to block Willow, and we know most of them. Do a more general search for magic in regards to power level instead of a specific signature, either single or a group, then we can begin eliminating the possibilities."

"Yo, Fang, Evil, Inc. did business with human trash before you took over, right?" Faith asked Angel.

"Yes, Faith, Wolfram & Hart did do business with a lot of humans looking for a quick and easy way to get what they wanted."

"Can ya check for some group or organization called The Trust, or a military group called the NID. They both know about our shit, and are full of people looking for easy power. Hey, there's also this government bigshot named Kinsey. Look for him, too."

"Got it." Faith could hear the faint sound of pen on paper. "How is Buffy doing?"

"Not too good." Faith sighed. "We're all gonna have to get together and talk some. Something funky's going on with B. My spidey sense is going bonkers just being in the same house with her, and her eyes are changing colors. Angel, I think she's connected to Willow somehow."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

Xander watched quietly as Buffy prowled restlessly around the room. She had progressed from pacing a while ago. The hairs at his nape rose as she passed by him. Something was way off with his friend, and not just the freaky eye color.

He'd been doing a lot of thinking since she'd snapped on that day. Everyone said that Buffy had overreacted, even Buffy herself, but they had also admitted that she'd had a point. Anya had sat him down and, with her customary brutal honesty, forced him to see the double-standard that he had set.

He had dated several monsters and demons that had tried to kill them, had become the enemy himself on more than one occasion, yet blamed Buffy for falling in love with Angel. He knew that Angel was one of the good guys. Despite their antagonism, Angel had saved his life more than once, yet Xander had been the first in line to have him destroyed when he'd first lost his soul, without even attempting to find another way. His jealousy and fear had him blaming his best friend for what Angelus had done, even though he knew that there was no way should have known what would happen. Ms. Calendar had told them that even Angel hadn't known about the clause. It had been why every one had been so pissed at her in the first place.

Now that he had been in the same position, he realized how unfair he had been blaming Buffy for being unable to kill her first love. 'I really need to apologize to her for that,' he thought dismally.

When he'd found out that Buffy had been hiding Angel, he had been terrified of at the thought of Angelus returning, jealous that even after everything, Buffy had still looked at Angel like the moon rose and set in his eyes, and angry and hurt that Buffy hadn't trusted him, her best friend, with a secret that big. Now that he was reflecting, he realized that he couldn't really blame her for that either, considering his role in Angel's death in the first place.

He knew that his mouth ran ahead of his brain sometimes. When he was hurt or scared, he lashed out. He realized that, because of it, his friends tended to think that he was judgmental and self-righteous. Faith and Spike had called him on it several times, but considering the importance he placed on their existence, much less their opinions, he'd had no problems think that how they saw him was of absolutely no importance.

He had been hurt again, and yes, jealous as well, when they'd discovered that Buffy had been pulled out of heaven instead of hell and had turned to Spike, and a sick, twisted violent sex relationship instead of turning to her friends. Anya had explained what she'd learned during her time with Osiris. Although Buffy didn't hate them for ripping her out of heaven, she did blame them. She'd been having such a hard time simply coping day to day, living when she didn't want to be, and they all just assumed that she'd get over it and bounce back into the swing of things.

God. He looked back now and regretted so much of what he'd said and done. Some of the complaints about Buffy had been valid, he knew that, but they were the Scoobies. They yelled at each other and pissed each other off, but they never turned their backs on each other, because they were all they had. But that's exactly what they had done. That God-forsaken night, he'd turned his back one of his best friends in the whole world, and thrown her to the wolves. With all their self-righteous bullshit, they hadn't thought about the possibility that Buffy could have been attacked that night. Alone, and as emotionally shattered as he knew she had to have been, she wouldn't have stood a chance. For him, a large part of it had been because he'd blamed her for the loss of his eye. Stupid, he knew, but while he'd been beaten, broken, enslaved and concussed, and knew Sunnydale General as well as he knew his own bedroom, he'd never been _maimed_ before. Buffy had always managed to reach them before something irreparable had been done and, to his mind, she should have done it again. That, he conceded, was as wrong as everything else. Buffy and Giles had tried, over and over, to get Willow and Xander out of the fight before something like that had happened, but they had stubbornly refused to be left out.

Then, they drop these babies in her lap, potential Slayers trained for battle, but in no way prepared for war, and practically forced her to take them with her on her patrols. To get them ready. Buffy had made it clear that she hadn't wanted to take them out. She had told Giles that, regardless of the fact that they had trained nearly their entire lives, they _were not_ ready to go up against the First. She had laid it flat on the table. She had been active for seven long years, and _she_ wasn't ready to go against The First. They'd made her take them anyway, because Kennedy firmly stated that she'd go out on her own, and Buffy knew that, at least with her, they'd stood a chance of coming back home. They'd placed all those lives on solely Buffy's shoulders, then tore her to shreds when a few fell off.

Dawn was right, he realized dismally. We have become no better than the Watchers Council. All of them had, though, not just him.

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

Willow screamed as she was doused with freezing cold water once again. She had given up trying to find out who had taken her and why. When she had first opened her eyes, she had seen Amy and several others convulsing on the ground around her. She knew without being told that they had been trying to break into her mind, and had fallen to the booby traps that the Coven had placed in her mind. The booby-traps had been her idea. With the amount of power she had possessed after draining the books of black magic, she had not wanted to take the chance that someone like Rack would be able to tap into her magic again.

The people holding her captive, whoever they were, had begun the physical torture to supplement the mental torture, subjecting her to sensory deprivation, water torture and even small bouts of electro-shock therapy.

She focused on Buffy to hold onto her mental defenses. Her blonde friend had always been always been the core of her strength, even when they'd had their problems. She had build all of her mental barriers for her magic using Buffy as a lodestone, knowing that her friend was always been there when she needed her. The scientists that she had seen had taken great pleasure in assuring her that there was no way that Buffy would be able to find her, confident that they had left no trail, but she refused to believe that. She knew that Buffy would find her. Had no doubt that Buffy would never stop looking. She just had to hold on.

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

Sam watched her daughter meditate. There was something wrong with her, and they all knew it, even Buffy. She had taken to meditation after Dawn had claimed that she was driving the others nuts with her pacing. Every once in a while, she thought she saw something ripple beneath her skin.

"Buffy, are you all right?"

"Those people are torturing her, Sam." Buffy said softly. Her voice had taken a soft, dangerous tone that sent shivers down her spine. "Water, electricity, and they are giving her drugs to suppress her magic."

Sam's eyes widen. "Buffy, how do you know that?"

"I can feel it." Buffy answered, never once opening her eyes. "She uses me as an anchor, and every time she does, the connection between us grows stronger. I have been feeding her my strength."

Sam _really _didn't like that tone. She wished that she could send her out patrolling to vent some of her fury, but there were no more demons for several miles in any direction. It had been two days and two nights since the demon child had delivered the news that Willow had been abducted by someone in the government, and in that time, Buffy had vented her frustration on every demon that she could find, until all they were all either dead or running. According to Angel, word had gotten around in the supernatural world that the Red Witch had been taken and the Slayer was on a rampage, and everyone had cleared out of town and gone into hiding.

"Yo, Blondie!" Sam sighed in frustration. She desperately wanted to say something about that stupid name, but Dawn and Xander assured her that if she did, she was stuck with it for life. "Fang's on the phone for ya!"

"Keep her strong, honey." Sam whispered. "We're looking as fast as we can."

She left Buffy to answer the phone, her brow furrowed in confusion. She had never met, or even spoken to Angel before, although she knew who he was. Why would he be calling her. "Hello, this is Samantha Carter."

"Hello, Ms. Carter. My name is Angel. I run the law offices of Wolfram & Hart in LA, and I have someone that would like to speak with you. They said that it was about Willow."

"All right. When and where would they like to meet?"

"They don't. They want to talk right now. I'm going to connect you."

She heard a few clicks, then her name was spoken in a hollow, mechanical tone. "Major Samantha Carter."

"Who is this?"

"Who I am is irrelevant. What I have to tell you, however, is. I am a representative of the Trust, and it has come to our attention that the witch, Willow Rosenberg has been kidnapped and you suspect that our organization is involved."

Sam's eyes widened in shock. _A representative of the Trust_. "Are you telling me that you aren't?"

"That is exactly what we are saying. We were approached by a member to use Ms. Rosenberg, but it was ultimately decided that it would not be in our best interests to so blatantly challenge the Slayer, Ms. Summers, and her company."

Suddenly, the phone was ripped out of Sam's hands. She spun around to see furious amber-green eyes fixed on her as Buffy spoke. "Who took her?"

"Ms. Summer, I presume. I am truly sorry, but I cannot divulge that information. Our members are assured anonymity."

"_Who took her!"_ Buffy shouted, and Sam instinctively reached for her missing gun when the room visibly shook with an unknown power. She jumped when a picture fell off the wall behind her. "I don't care which one of you in that room tells me, but one of you had better do it, or I will hunt you all down and treat you like the evil bastards that you are."

Unlike Sam, Buffy could clearly hear the sounds of others talking amongst each other in the background, although the audio suppressors kept her from clearly making out their words.

"Former Vice President Robert Kinsey." The representative finally said. "He is holding her in an abandoned military research facility in the Mojave Desert."

Before he could continue, Buffy hung up and turned away. "Faith, Dawn, Xander, she's in Nevada."


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Everyone started making phone calls. Sam managed to get Buffy to tell her exactly what the Trust representative had told her, and immediately called General Hammond. Buffy called Angel's direct line at Wolfram & Hart.

"Angel, can you come?" She asked.

"Of course, Buffy." He answered without hesitation. "The firm's jet is being prepped as we speak. We'll be ready for take off by the time you reach the airport."

She wrote down the directions that he gave her to the private airport where the jet was hangered. "Cool. Leave the potentials there. They aren't prepared or trained to go up against humans and bullets. We'll be up there soon."

She hung up and left the room without speaking to anyone. She was going to need weapons.

Faith watched her leave without a word. As soon as she was upstairs, she grabbed her cellphone and made her way to the opposite end of the house. "Yo, G. I think we got a problem."

"What's the matter, Faith?" Giles asked, alarmed by the tone of her voice. He had never heard her 'freaked out' before.

"I don't know what kind of changes B is supposed to go through with that Osiris guy, but whatever is going on with her is setting off my Slayer senses in a major way. I'm not even sure exactly _how_ it's reacting. I mean, usually I either want to kill or run away from something, but this is different."

"Can you describe it in any way?"

Faith shrugged before she realized that he wouldn't be able to see it. "I don't know, Giles." Faith sighed. "I really don't know. I just feel this stupid urge to take a step back and bow or some shit like that." Then Faith heard the faint sound of Sam talking. She saw everyone head for the study. "I gotta go, G. I think they've got something."

"Yes, sir." Sam was saying when Faith walked into the room. "Thank you, sir."

Buffy looked at her expectantly as she closed her cellphone. Sam focused on her. "There are three abandoned research facilities in the Mojave Desert. All three of them are supposed to be completely abandoned and sealed."

"So, what does that mean?" Dawn asked.

"It means that either the Trust representative was lying, or one of those bases has been reactivated." Janet explained. "We just have to figure out which one, because I'm sure that whoever did this has us under surveillance, and has probably already alerted someone."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

"Mr. Kinsey, we have a situation."

Kinsey turned his attention from the monitor where the Rosenberg girl was huddled in a corner, naked and shivering. After several days of alternating between being hosed down intermittently throughout the day, and being zapped with electric shock, they had left her in a room with no lights, about an inch worth of ice water on the floor and only enough heat to keep her from freezing. He looked at the shadowed form of his associate.

"What is it?"

"The Trust has given the Slayer your name and general location. With their range of contacts, I suspect that they will narrow down your location within a few hours at the most. I have activated the security measures that I have previous arranged, but I would suggest that you eliminate the witch, destroy the facility and all information, and evacuate immediately."

"NO!" Kinsey growled. "We're too close. Once we have the witch, it won't matter what they do."

"Mr. Kinsey, I must object once again to the speed you are pushing us." The doctor interrupted. "We are progressing too quickly. At this rate, we are more than likely to break her mind than break her will. These things take time to be done correctly."

Kinsey ignored him. "What security measures do you have in place?"

"My warlock has opened a portal for a small army of demon mercenaries to gather at the facility, then he will leave and you will be on your own. It would not be in my best interest to be discovered by the Slayer, therefore, all contacts between us are done from this point on." Kinsey could hear papers being shuffled. "The terms of our contract have been met and payments rendered. It has been nice doing business with you. If you survive, maybe we will have the opportunity to do business again."

Kinsey stared at the now black screen for a long moment, then turned to the irritating doctor. "I want that girl under my control right now. You have two hours."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

"Hello, Giles."

The Watcher's head jerked up. "Anya, what are you doing here? How did you even get here?"

Anya shrugged. "Osiris takes me where he needs me to be. And right now, he needs me to give you this."

She handed him a thick tome, bound in some kind of hide that obviously predated even ancient professional bookbinding. He took it reverently. The moment he touched it, he could feel the immense power in the book. "What is it?"

"It's the original Codex of Prophecies. You didn't really think it came all nice and book-worthy, did you? It was written before Man could read."

Moving to the big table, he laid the tome down and opened it carefully.

"The Prophecies that have already occurred will be clearly read. So will the ones that are currently happening. You won't be able to read the prophecies that aren't in motion, however. You can see that there is writing, but when you try to read it, it will get all jumbled. The power is in the book itself, which is bound by skin and written in blood. Human skin or animal skin, I can't tell which, so I'm going home to scrub for at least an hour. The marked page has the Prophecy that you need to read right now."

Giles quickly, but carefully, turned to the marked page. Reading the content, he dropped into a nearby seat with an audible thud. "Oh, Dear Lord."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

"Anything?" Buffy asked Sam, who had been on the phone since they'd left the house.

"No." Sam said, her frustration obvious. "Wherever they are, they're masking it very well. There is no power being diverted into the location of any of the facilities, nor are they visible by thermal readings from orbit. Maybe if we had one of the Asgard ships, or even one of the Goa'uld ships, we could be more thorough, but these people are completely off the radar by normal human means, and all of our orbit-capable ships are still being repaired from the last battle."

Suddenly, Buffy began shivering. "C-cold."

'_Buffy, please!'_

'_I'm coming, baby.'_ Buffy sent back to her, along with another surge of strength.

Just as they turned into the private airport, a surge of raw electricity streaked up her body through her feet. She screamed, the entire body arching spasmodically out of her seat. _"WILLOW!!"_

Then, she was gone. With a low _pop_, she completely vanished. Everyone stared wide-eyed at the empty spot where Buffy had just been.

"What the fuck just happened?" Faith blurted.

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

"Mistress, a tremendous surge of power just manifested in the United States." A young woman reported, entered the office of Bridget, the Headmistress of the Coven in Devon. "It appeared in Los Angeles, then teleported to the desert in Nevada."

"That would be Buffy." The two women jumped and looked at the doorway to see a young woman standing there. "No time for lengthy introductions. I'm Anya, Emissary of Osiris. Buffy works for him now instead of The Powers That Screw Up and she ended up with a massive power upgrade. So did Willow. They were planning to come here for training, but Willow was kidnapped and is now being tortured and Buffy's power is manifested faster than expected because they are connected and she's feeling what being done to Willow. Got it? Good, cause now you've got to go there and get them and bring them back here before Buffy goes off the deep end and slaughters everybody."

It took Bridget a moment to decipher the hurried explanation, then she paled. "Emissary of Osiris? Willow? The Slayer that had Quentin's knickers all bunched up? Oh, dear! She's the one, isn't she?"

"Yes." Anya confirmed. "Now can we attend to the current problem before we lose her?"

"Yes, yes, of course." Bridget looked at her hapless messenger. "Send Darius and Alanna to me, and prepare to rooms for our upcoming guests..."

"One room." Anya interjected.

Bridget glanced her briefly. "One room, then. And have the others continue to monitor that power source."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

"Yo, Fang, we lost B!" Faith yelled as she jumped out of the car, trying to be heard over the jet's engines. "She just vanished right outta the freaking car."

"What?" Angel exclaimed. "How?"

"Like I know." Faith snorted. "She started convulsing, then screamed Red's name, then she was just gone."

"She's been going through changes since the battle with the First." Dawn gave him a partial explanation. "A spell that Willow during the battle left them connected, and she's been feeling Willow's torture. I think she might have somehow tapped into Willow's power to go to her. Let me use your cellphone to call Giles."

He handed it over, and Dawn called Giles to give him an update, and ask him if he could locate a sudden power signature in the Nevada desert. She waited on the line while he checked, and after a few minutes, he gave her the location.

"Thanks, Giles. We're gonna head there now."

"You'll call when this is over." Giles demanded. "We must all get together very soon. There are some things that you need to be aware of."

"As soon as Willow's on her feet, we'll head out there."

They were boarding the plane when Faith suddenly stopped. "Angel?"

The use of his name out of her lips was enough to make him flinch, and the other Scoobies to look at her in shock.

"What the fuck is that?" She asked cautiously. "And why does it look like Fred?"


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

The scream of rage that shattered the quiet of empty desert sent every living creature scattering for the safety of their dens. She glared at the small non-descript boulder in front of her, clearly man-made by the almost invisible door she could made out. Whatever force that she had used to teleport to its location had been repeled by some sort of force field, and since magic was essentially energy, she hadn't been able to pass through it, so she'd materialized just outside the field. At least now she knew why they hadn't been able to locate Willow by her magic. If it could keep magic out, then it most likely could keep magic in as well. She had spent the last hour trying to beat it down. Gathering her strength, she hit the barrier as hard as she could, watching with narrowed eyes as it became visible at the point of impact and spread out like a ripple. Her body jerked as the surge of electricity hit her again, longer this time. She collapsed to one knee when it finally stopped, her whole body shaking. She sensed Willow getting weakening despite sharing her strength. She had to get in there.

'_Willow, can you hear me?'_

'_Buffy, it hurts.'_ She sounded like a little kid being beaten by her parents. Buffy wanted to cry even as her rage skyrocketed.

'_I know, honey, but there's an energy barrier here that I can get past. I need you to help me.'_

'_I'm so tired, Buffy. I just want to close my eyes and make it stop.'_

"_NO!"_ Buffy screamed, not realizing in her panic that she was speaking out loud. "Don't you do that, Willow! You tell me how to get past this barrier!" She felt the connection between them fade a little. She no longer cared about the scrambling that she could barely. She didn't care that whoever was watching through the cleverly hidden cameras now knew that she could somehow communicate with their captive. "Damn it, witch, I swear to Osiris and your Goddess and whoever the fuck else is listening that if you die on me, I'll track you down and beat your ass! Now tell me how to get past this field! NOW!!"

Finally, she felt Willow struggling to concentrate. _'It h-has to b-be powered by s-something. You have to f-find a way to o-overload it."_

'_Will a hard, concentrated blow to one spot work?'_

'_You're n-not strong e-enough. It w-would have to b-be the force of a s-speeding mack truck.'_

'_Will. It. Work?'_ Even mentally, Buffy gave off the impression of speaking through clenched teeth.

'_It should.'_ Willow finally acknowledged.

'_Then hang on. I'm coming in.' _Not even bothering to wonder how she was doing it, Buffy summoned the Troll Hammer, unknowingly causing Faith to stumble when the bag on weapons that she was carrying suddenly became massively lighter. She backed away from the bunker and ran off in the opposite direction. When she was nearly a mile away, she looped around and kicked her speed up another notch, the only evidence of her passing a blur of motion and a gust of wind. She swung the hammer into position like a baseball bat when she caught sight of the bunker and a few seconds later, when she reached the bunker, she swung it forward with all of her strength.

No one could have predicted what would happen. Not Buffy, not the soldiers watching frantically through the cameras, not the state of Nevada. The contact of the hammer to the shield repelled Buffy and sent her flying nearly 20 feet. The power surge required to repel the blow had indeed overloaded the generator, lighting up the entire force field for almost a half a minute before the generator exploded in its sheltered room inside the facility. The force of the blow cracked the foundation of the underground facility, showering the occupants with debris and mortar, and shockwaved through the ground, registering a 4.9 on the Richter Magnitude Scale and catching the local seismologists by complete surprise, since there had been no evidence of seismic activity.

None of that was of any interest to Buffy as she fought her way back to her feet. Only one thing mattered to her. The barrier keeping her from Willow was down.

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

The collective group and the Scoobies and the Fang Gang had just bypassed Nevada airport security, thanks to a preemptive phone call from General Hammond, when the ground beneath the shook hard enough to cause anyone without superior balance to hit the ground in suprise. Even then, Faith, Angel, Spike and 'Fred' stumbled briefly before they were able to widen their stances to remain upright.

"Bloody hell, what was that?" Spike growled.

"Shit, that was B." Faith gasped. She surge of emotion that she felt through their Slayer connection was enough to make her pale. "We've got to hurry. She's gonna slaughter 'em like pigs."

They rushed out of the security exit that they had been directed to, only to find Daniel and Teal'c waiting for them with SG-7 and, to the Scoobies surprise, Riley and Sam Finn and their unit. Faith just barely managed to keep herself from instinctively attacking the big black man that radiated evil from the nearly mature larva in his stomach pouch, only because she recognized him from the picture of Sam's team.

"Sam!" Daniel waved. "What's going on. General Hammond just shoved us all into a plane and told us that you'd explain."

"Riley! Sam!" Dawn squealed, jumping into her sister's ex-boyfriend's arms. They had all kept in touch and become good friends since the unit's last visit to Sunnydale. "How did you get here?"

"Giles called." Sam answered. "Told us that Willow had been kidnapped and to get our asses to Nevada." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at two guys standing behind her. "We caught an express ride. We saw these guys waiting here and figured that they were here for similar reasons."

"Umm, yeah." Dawn said and pointed to Sam. "That's Samantha Carter. We recently found out that she's Buffy's biological mom, and that her team..."

"Dr. Daniel Jackson and Teal'c." Riley finished for her. "From the Stargate Program. We know. Graham and a few others were reassigned there by General West to keep an eye on things. What's going on, Dawn? Where's Buffy?"

"She's wherever Willow is." Dawn told them, climbing into their SUV. Everyone was gathering into cars to move out. "A lot has happened since we last talked to you guys, and it'll take to long to explain now. Right now, Buffy's on a rampage because they were torturing Willow and she could feel it, and she's no longer bound by the Slayer 'no killing humans' laws. We've got to get to her before she does something she'll never forgive herself for."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

Buffy felt the humans in the underground bunker, scrambling around frantically as she kicked in the reinforced steel door as if it were made with cheap plastic. She felt no mercy for them. They had tortured Willow, her best friend, and now they deserved whatever happened to them. She had no intention of going after anyone yet, but if they stood between her and her witch, she had absolutely no qualms about going through them. She would kill anything in her path, human or demon, it no longer made any difference.

With that acknowledgement to herself, she felt her mind and power shift further from the Slayer she had been to whatever she was now becoming. She felt a presence deep inside of herself stir and awaken. Buffy felt her hand lift and, with a snap of her fingers, everything froze. She tried to move, but found that she no longer had complete control of her body. _What the hell? Let me go! I have to find Willow!_

**I have frozen the world outside in order to see what has awakened me. Who are you?**

_The one who's going to kick your ass if you don't give me my god damn body back!_

**Insolent child.** Buffy felt the presence move through her mind and shift through her memories. **Ahh, you are the one which I have waited for.**

_What are you talking about?_

**Your shell is strong enough to hold my power. I am Sineya, the most powerful of the Neutrals. I was defeated by Delcathas, whom you know as The First. I was visited by the Elders, who informed me that our time was nearly at an end, and by helping the human mages, I would assure our eventual return. When the shell of one of my 'childer' was strong enough to hold my power, I would awaken.**

_You're an Old One!_ Buffy realized with shock. _I thought you were all dead._

**The Nine are more than what you know as Old Ones. The ones that you speak of were our most trusted servants. Like the Old Ones, however, our physical bodies can be destroyed, but the essence of what we are is forever.**

_That's all well and good, but will you please let me go. I've got to get to Willow!_

**Willow?** Images of the redhead flashed through her mind, causing tears of frustration to fill Buffy's eyes. **Ahh, your mate.**

_Yeah. Wait! What? Mate??_

**You have been calling her 'honey' and 'baby' for several days now, and you have not realized this? **Buffy got the sense that Sineya was amused with her, but a moment later, it didn't matter, since she was suddenly standing before a large window looking down at the limply hanging form of her redheaded witch. **We will speak again.**

"Willow!" The world resumed motion, just as she saw the man in the white coat about press the sponged end of the charged cable into the water that filled the floor of the little room that her friend was trapped in. "_NO!!_"

The window splintered.

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

The creature in Fred Burkle's body felt the whisper of a level of power she had not sensed in many, many centuries. After the souled vampire and his 'associates' had pushed the majority of her great power into another dimension, she had found herself disgustingly reliant on the very muck that should be groveling at her feet in supplication.

That whisper, however, brought her to immediate attention. There was another one here like herself, one of immense power. Perhaps she could align herself with this power, and restore this pathetic world to its former glory. She looked at the interior of the vehicle that she was in, studying the creatures that surrounded her. The hybrids, Angel and Spike, the woman called a Slayer, a small being of minimal, yet impressive power, the one who had set himself up as her guide to this muck-filled world, and two she did not recognize. One had the presence of one of her brothers' servants, thought it was not yet mature, therefore she could not demand answers.

The last, however, was one of interest. This one held the faint presence of the creatures of before. The beings of power that had first brought her kind to this world. They had fled the world after being unable to beat back the horde that they had unleased, although there had been lingering evidence of their presence in the muck that had arisen after them, enough that she and others like her had kept them as slaves instead of destroying them utterly as they obviously should have done.

"So, if you aren't Fred Burkle, who are you?" Daniel asked. He was amazed that the things that Sam had told him before they had separated into their vehicles.

"Who I am is more than your primitive mind can comprehend." 'Fred' said contemptuously.

"I apologize, Dr. Jackson, our compatriot here is a tad anti-social," Wesley said dryly. "but since 'God-King' is a bit ostentatious, you can call her Illyria."

Illyria, for her part, went back to ignoring them, and refocused instead on following the whisper of power back to its source.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Buffy slammed her fist, full force, at the window again, and Kinsey watched wide-eyed as cracks spiderwebbed through the supposedly shatter-proof glass.

"God damn it." He muttered, seeing his grand plan go up in smoke. Furious, he jabbed the transmit button on the intercom. "This is Kinsey, this project is terminated. Kill the witch. Kill the Slayer. None of this ever happened."

He turned to leave, and threw his last command over his shoulder. "Destroy it all."

With that, he made his way quickly through the facility back to the surface where his car was waiting. He had called his driver to come and wait as soon as he had been informed that he'd been betrayed by the Trust. He might have not been ready to abandon his plan at the time, but he was not foolish enough not to be prepared if necessary.

"Let's go." He said, sliding into the back seat.

He continued to fume as they pulled off. Betrayed by the Trust, he would have to revise several of his alternate plans. They weren't even a half a mile away from the facility when they hit something, hard, and something underneath the car broke with a clearly heard crunch snap. If it hadn't been for the driver's quick reaction, the car would surely have crashed. Of course, that didn't stop Kinsey from snapping at him anyway.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" Kinsey barked. "Get us out of here, now."

Accustomed to the verbal abuse, the driver said nothing as he got out to inspect the damage. A moment later, he settled back into the front seat. "I'm sorry, sir but whatever we hit has completely broken the axle. We aren't going anywhere unless it's on foot. Should I attempt to return to the base for another vehicle?"

Almost before he finished speaking, he noticed the bobbing headlights headed straight for them in the rear view mirror. After the spin that they had gone through, he had no idea which direction they were facing, and he didn't know if they were friends or enemies. He pulled his gun out from the holster beneath the seat. A few minutes later, they found themselves surrounded by military vehicles, and several weapons pointed at them, ranging from crossbows to P90s to Zats. With a glance back at his boss, the driver tossed the gun out of the window and held out both hands where they could see him. Kinsey didn't pay him enough to die for him. He wasn't even the VP anymore.

In the back, Kinsey paled and shrunk in his seat when he saw the tall blonde climb out of the lead vehicle.

"Kinsey." Sam acknowledged as she opened his door, a hard, angry glint making her blue eyes look like arctic ice. "Fancy running into you here."

Dragging him out of the car, she shoved him towards the commander of SG-7. "Secure him, and the driver."

"You can't do this." Kinsey sputtered indignantly. "Do you know who I am?"

"A man in trouble." The commander smirked. "The Colonel's kid? Friends of the President? Oh yeah, I'd say, you're in BIG trouble."

"Hey, you found the Troll Hammer." A dark haired young woman suddenly stepped into the lights, hefting a large hammer almost bigger than she was. She smiled widely. "Thanks, man." Then, her eyes turned cold and hard. "Now, shut up before I beat you to death with it."

Less sure of the rogue slayer's redemption, Kinsey opted to go along quietly as his hands were secured behind his back and he was pushed into the vehicle.

When they reached the bunker, the first thing they noticed was the reinforced door hanging sadly by its hinges. Xander took one look at it and quipped. "Oh yeah, Buffy's definitely been here."

Everyone got out of their vehicles and gathered at the back, stocking up on ammo for their respective weapons, while Faith, Xander and Dawn strapped themselves with everything from daggers to short and longswords, as did Angel and Spike. Wesley, Gunn and Illyria were staying topside for anyone who got past them. It had taken some fast talking on Wesley's part to convince the Old One to remain with him. When they were ready, Xander lobbed one of SG-7's concussion grenades right into the entrance, and every covered their ears and closed their eyes tightly as it went off with a huge bang and a flash of excruciatingly bright light. Faith's head was ringing, despite the distance, but she didn't let it stop her when they charged inside.

Inside, they saw men and woman on the ground, clutching their heads in pain. Satisfied that at least the humans on this level were neutralized, Faith announced that there were a good number of demons beneath them. They had just reached the elevator when the sounds of automatic gunfire echoed up the shaft. Before they could wonder, Faith gasped and clutched at her chest. The feelings of rage she had sensed earlier were nothing compared to the panicked terror she was feeling now. She knew without question that something really, really bad had just happened to Willow. She looked around at the others. "We've got to hurry."

Outside of the elevator was thankfully empty, but the first wave of attackers, demons and human, struck before they had made it five feet, at the first intersecting corridor. Soldiers from the front, demons on both sides. Their soldiers exchanged fire with the NID soldiers while Xander, Dawn and Riley fought a group of demons on the left while Faith, Spike and Angel took the demons on the right.

Faith held nothing back, knowing that she had to get to Buffy and Willow as fast as she could. They had all been repairing their battered relationships over the last few weeks, even holding out the hands of friendship to her like they had in the beginning, and Faith was determined not to let some whiney-assed, useless sack of lazy government shit fuck it all up now. Not if she had anything to say about it.

She would have been surprised to know that Xander and Dawn were thinking along the same lines as they hacked and slashed without mercy, Dawn showing her fledgling magic skills with protective spells that made the demon mercenaries' blows less effective that they should have been. Her thoughts flipped back and forth between reaching her sister before she died again and reaching Willow before she went dark again.

"Hey, you two got anything in your bag of tricks?" Sam asked the two men in their group that had been identified as witches as she reloaded her weapon. "Now would be a good time to do it."

"Our combat spells are usually lethal to humans." One of them warned.

"Not really caring at the moment." Carter responded flatly, glad that Janet had opted to stay topside with Sam Finn, SG-7 and half of the AI team to guard their prisoners and watch the entrance for stragglers. "Pick the one that will cause the most damage with the least fatalities and let it rip."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

Just as the glass finally shattered and Buffy leapt through, she saw a man run into the room and open fire. She watched in horror as bullets struck the limp form of her best friend, and a rage unlike anything she's ever felt filled her so fast that she didn't even have time to wonder what she was going to do. She landed on the ground, the Scythe suddenly in her hand, and moved in blurring motion, deflecting the rest of the bullets, until the rifle merely clacked, empty.

"Buffy?"

The Scythe clattered to the ground as Buffy spun around at the faint whisper. Willow was staring at her, a little smile on her face despite the pain and weariness in her eyes. She had been hit three times. Twice in the chest, and a graze on her neck. Her life's blood was gushing out of her with every beat of her heart. Buffy put her hands over the wounds, knowing that she was too late, but desperately trying to stop them from bleeding anyway.

"Please, Willow." She cried, tears pouring down her face. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough. Don't die. Please don't die."

"It's all right." Willow whispered, then coughed, and blood bubbled from her mouth. "You did everything you could. I'm going to rest now."

"No, Willow, you can't rest." Buffy panicked. "We have to get you fixed up." She began pulling on the shackles around her wrists. Every breath her friend took made another dribble of blood come out of her mouth. She pulled with all of her strength, hearing the thick chain links creak apart. "Please, Willow, just a little longer. I can get you to a hospital."

She didn't hear the soldier replace the clip of his rifle as she pulled on the chains. She didn't hear him chamber a new round as she begged for her friend to keep breathing just a little longer. The first bullet slammed into her back just as one of the chains came apart, and the second and third bullets missed as she fell forward. Without thinking, Buffy shielded her friend's body as more bullets struck her. Her only thought was to get Willow out, and she kept pulling on the other chain, until it finally broke as well.

The soldier and the doctors in the doorway didn't know how the blonde was still alive, much less standing after half a dozen rifle shots to the back. The doctors wished that they could get the girls strapped to a table to see how any of it was possible. The soldier, however, for the first time since being recruited by the NID, wondered at the sanctity of their mission, as he watched this young girl, a savior herself if what he'd heard was true, beg and plead for her friend to live even as she was so obviously dying herself.

Buffy sank down onto the cold floor with Willow in her arms as her legs finally gave out on her. After a moment, she couldn't feel them at all. She knew that one, if not both, of her lungs had been hit. She'd felt at least one rib shatter. She was bleeding out, and quickly. None of it mattered though, because all she realized, or cared about, was that Willow wasn't breathing anymore.

"Willow, please." Buffy begged with her last, dying breath. "Wake up, baby. Please, you have to wake up."

She was still begging when the darkness finally took her.


	21. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

"Buffy? Buffy, wake up."

Buffy struggled to open her eyes. She was still lying across Willow, like she had been when she'd died, but now Willow was looking back up at her. "Willow, you're all right?"

"I'm not sure." Willow glanced around. "Where are we?"

**You are in my domain, young mage.**

Buffy scrambled to her feet at the sound of _that_ voice, pulling Willow up with her. Turning, she got her first glimpse at Sineya, for all intents and purposes, the 'mother' of the Slayers. The creature before them had the look of those mythical Chinese dragons in body. It was long and sinuous and had huge wings, but instead of claws, there were slender arms with elegant fingers and black, lethally sharp looking nails. It had long legs, standing at nearly seven feet tall, and a wicked looking tail. Like the dragons, body was covered in shimmering scales, looking like intricate body armor, and small, delicate looking spines covered her shoulders and the sides of her throat. Sineya's face had an obvious feminine cast to it. Her hair looked almost like solid mounds of her flesh shaped like thick cornrows down the back of her head. Her eyes were an odd amber-green that Buffy recognized from her own mirror in the last few days of enduring Willow's torment. Something old and powerful shifted and moved in her gaze. Buffy knew, from all the research that no one had known she'd done of the Old Ones when she was curious of the Slayer's origins, that no mortal should be able to look into the eyes of one of the Nine without going hopelessly insane.

**This is where I have rested for uncounted millennia and more, as I awaited for the One with the strength of Mind, Body and Will to house my full power as was foretold.**

"How can we look at you?" Buffy demanded. "Even **I **know that we shouldn't be able to a.) look you in the eye, or b.) look at your true form, without going completely nuts."

**Very good. **Sineya smiled, which allowed them to see the large sets of fangs at the top and bottom of her teeth. They reminded Willow of a large cat. **I have shielded your minds so that you could look on Me without fear. After your minds have become acclimated to the power, your inner presence will be as devastating as My Own. You will have to take care to keep that part shielded at all times. The young mage, however, has no need of such protection. The primal magicks flow strongly within her, both light and dark, and it gives her the strength of mind and will to withstand the onslaught. It was glorious to see so many of My 'children' walk this world at one time. It is a shame that the Lanteans reverted the Line back to its original state, but such is the way of things.**

"Lanteans?" Willow asked.

**You refer to them as The Powers That Be. We knew them as the first of your kind that walked on this world. They are the ones that originally brought us here. They breached the barrier between our dimensions, and the Elders swept in and laid claim to this fledgling world with their servants before they could get it closed again. When they could not defeat us, they abandoned this planet, but sowed the seeds of new life as they fled. When the seeds sprouted and remade your kind, they waited until you flourished in great numbers before returning to teach them how to defeat and drive us back to our own dimension. By that time, Delcathas had already begun to make his move to overthrow the Nine and claim our power for himself.**

"There's one thing I don't understand." Buffy interrupted the history lesson for more current events. "I thought we were supposed to be immortal or invulnerable or something. How is it that we're dead?"

**You are not dead.** Sineya said simply. **Your bodies have merely shut down to repair the considerable damage that you have suffered. It was the only way to bring you here, to this place.**

"Why are we here?" Buffy asked.

**So that I may pass on the power.** Sineya answered, then tilted her head in a manner that conveyed a mild curiosity. **Although, only the Chosen should have been brought here. It seems that your bond is too strong to be separated even by this.**

"Is that bad?" Willow asked nervously.

**No, young mage, it merely means that instead of the Chosen wielding the power alone, you will both share this burden. **

"How can you just decide to give us your power?" Buffy demanded to know. "I don't want it if it's going to make us all 'bow down or die' bitchy like."

**The question alone proves that you are worthy. To you, Chosen, I unlock the full potential of the essence within you. Already, you had begun to access more of the power, but now it will integrate into all that you are. You will undergo changes in body and mind, to prepare you for what is to come.** Buffy was speechless, and Sineya turned to Willow. **For you, young mage, I bequeath my power. You have touched, and been touched by, the purity of the primal magicks at their darkest and their lightest. Despite your self-doubt, you are worthy to wield such power. The Chosen will be your conscience and your anchor as you will be her solace and her security. **

Without another word, Sineya pulled herself more 'upright', her eyes glowing even brighter. As Buffy watched Sineya's Power begin to stir and, without looking away, tilted her head closer to her friend, "Hey Will?"

"Yeah, Buffy?"

"We're screwed, aren't we?"

Willow paused as she quickly considered what was about to happen to them, the sheer Power that was building in response to Sineya's Will. "Yes, I really think we are."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

Sam led her eclectic little strike force further into the facility. After two more ambushes, Faith had announced that all the demons were dead, and now the Scoobies trailed behind the trained military men, knowing full well that they couldn't go up against soldiers with rifles no matter how much they wanted to rush ahead and find their friends and family. Faith was especially twitchy. She could feel that something was 'off', but couldn't tell exactly what. It was similar to what she had felt when Buffy had died, but there was no hollow sensation in her chest, so she knew that wasn't the case. Damn it, she was ready to tear the walls down and crawl down an air shaft or some shit like that.

They had reached another elevator when Faith collapsed to her knees with a gasp. Her eyes flashed from brown to amber-green for an endless moment, before returning to normal once again.

"Faith?" Dawn knelt next to her. "Are you okay?"

"We have to get to them." Faith panted, her eyes wild. "Right now!!"

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

The soldier that had fulfilled his orders and shot down the two young women that looked uncomfortably like they were around the same age as his youngest sister wondered, for the first time in a long time, just what hell he would go to when he died. He wondered if the fact that he was merely obeying orders would get him anywhere on his judgement day when God demanded to know why he'd killed two innocent girls that had made no threats to the government that their mandate said they were protecting. He stared down at the dead women wrapped around each other. He could still hear the blonde's pleas, over and over in his head. He had been having doubts for a while. He knew that some of the technology that they were 'acquiring' for the protection of the world had been essential to the living conditions of the people that they had stolen them from. It had been clearly stated in the SGC reports that explained why whatever SG team had gone there had come back without such a useful piece of equipment. It didn't help when he'd overheard the higher-ups talk about how all those people were humans that had been kidnapped from right here on Earth. It was while he was in the middle of his self-evaluation that all hell began to break loose.

"Sir, something is happening." A tech announced into the small isolation room. He had been electronically wiping the hard-drives when he had noticed the monitor. "The sensor readings are going off the charts!"

"We can see that." The doctor snapped out loud, his eyes glued to the amazing scene before him.

Buffy and Willow's bodies were rising from the ground, radiating an odd autumn-golden glow. They jumped, startled, at the clatter of bullets dropping back to the ground as they were expelled from the bodies and the wounds began to rapidly heal right before their eyes. The blonde's eyes opened first, and the pure, unadulterated rage froze most of them in their place. Her lips curled into a snarl that turned into a wild cry of fury as whatever power holding her suddenly released, and she dropped lightly to her feet.

When the two girls began to glow and float, and the blonde opened her eyes, he knew that his time had come. When she dropped to the ground, he lowered the muzzle of his rifle towards the floor and simply stared, waiting for his death. Then, she moved. His eyes lost track of her, but the havoc left in her wake clearly showed her progress. She tore through his fellow soldiers as if they were made of paper. Their short-lived screams rang in his ears, but another motion turned his attention. The redhead was lowering herself gently to the ground. She walked silently to him, but all he could focus on were the spots where his bullets had killed her.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, heartfelt, when she was standing right in front of him.

She cocked her head to the side as she stared at him. He felt something moving through him, weighing the truth behind his apology. Finally, she nodded. "You are." Then, she turned away from him. With a ragged sob, he fell to his knees as if his legs had been cut from beneath him. He had been forgiven. He prayed that God would be as merciful as she had been.

Buffy was not unaware of the soldier behind her, but she could feel that he was no threat. She felt when Willow passed judgment and left him alive. Oh well, she had bigger fish to fry. Before the debris from the two other soldier's impact with the wall had hit the floor, Buffy was standing before the doctors that had mercilessly tortured her mate for days. Just as she was about to grab the closest one by the throat, a pale hand closed around her wrist, arresting the motion. Swallowing audibly, the men shifted their attention to the redhead that was suddenly standing next to her. The room visibly rippled with the raw power the two were generating simply by existing.

"Mine." She said softly, her eyes colored the same autumn-gold that had surrounded them before.

The Red Witch stood before her tormentors, her body and mind healed and pain-free for the first time in what felt like an eternity. She felt their fear roll over her in a sweet wave, and it fed the darkness within her that strained to lash out and obliterate these monsters from existence. She restrained the impulse with difficulty. She'd had the power before, but that power paled in comparison to the amount she now wielded. Death was too good for men like these. They deserved to suffer as their victims suffered, deserved to feel what she had felt.

"You wanted access to my power?" Her voice remained soft, but the depthless menace now present in that terrible voice sent a wave of terror down their spines. "Congratulations, you're going to get your wish."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

"Oh, Goddess." Bridget exclaimed, wide-eyed as she took in the carnage of the room. She and her entourage, including Anya, were standing in the viewing room above the isolation room, looking down through the shattered window. Blood painted the wall in a grisly mural. Two men were propped into the indents that their bodies had made in the rock. Three men in white coats were balled into fetal positions, clutching their heads and screaming like the damned. Alanna swallowed hard, trying desperately not to lose her breakfast, and thankful that she hadn't eaten lunch. Bridget wondered wildly what could have warranted such savage actions.

Off to the side, was the lone survivor. He knelt there, sobbing, not even stirring when shards of glass from the window shattered on the floor.

Anya looked on impassively. She knew the torments that Willow had suffered, so she couldn't dredge up any sympathy for these men who were worse than demons. Impatient, she pulled Bridget away from the window and down a hall. "Let's go, before they kill everyone. They won't recognize friend from enemy in the state that they are in."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

Buffy and Willow moved through the corridors with a single-minded purpose. Buffy moved ahead, attacking her prey with blurring speed, brushing off both machine gun fire and Zat strikes with contempt when they managed to hit her at all. A shield protected Willow, destroying the bullets. They left bodies in their wake, some bloody messes while others looked untouched.

Soon, those before them realized that their weapons were useless and began to run, screaming for mercy as they were caught.

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

Sam knew something was wrong when men began to run down the corridors, throwing down their weapons, and practically begging to be taken into custody.

"Aghh."

She looked behind her to see the two witches on their knees, clutching at their heads. Faith looked completely freaked out, nearly putting grooves in the walls with her fingers as she inched backward.

"Faith?"

"We gotta get outta here." Her voice shook with fear.

"What about Buffy and Willow?" Xander snapped at her.

"They're running from Buffy and Willow." She threw back.

The enormity of what they were saying, the use of their names, was staggering, but Samantha and the others put that to the side when a familiar face suddenly rushed around the corner.

"Lower your weapons!" Anya ordered frantically. "All of them. They're not exactly sane at the moment."

Without waiting to see if they obeyed, she pushed the Coven members towards the others, then turned, raised her hands and began to chant.

"That's Ancient Egyptian." Daniel exclaimed, his eyes wide. "That dialect hasn't been spoken in centuries."

They all watched as a shield materialized from the ground to the ceiling. When she was done, Anya leaned against the nearest wall, panting in exhaustion. Not really one for magic, she'd never realized how much a powerful casting could take out of a person, even when they weren't using their personal energy to do more than channel the power being used.

Sam was about to demand an explanation, when the explanation became unnecessary as one last soldier who had stopped just inside the room the corridor was leading to after seeing the shield was suddenly yanked back into the room. The rescue party heard the soldier give a high squealing scream that cut off amidst the wet, sickening sound of tearing meat. As everyone froze in shock the soldier's upper torso, including the one arm still attached, flew down the corridor towards them for a third of the distance before hitting the ground and sliding to a stop about 15 feet away from the shield.

First Buffy, then Willow appeared at the other end of the corridor. Buffy carelessly dropped the arm she'd just ripped from the soldier, which hit the ground with a wet sound, splattering the two young women with blood. Not that a little more blood mattered given how much blood and other gore already streaked their forms in chaotic patterns.


	22. Chapter TwentyOne

Chapter Twenty-One

Buffy and Willow stopped a few feet away from them, sensing the Elder's shield clearly, and knowing that they could not get past it. Yet.

Buffy looked at the people behind the shield curiously. She knew them. They were not apart of the vermin that had hurt her mate. Inhaling deeply, she breathed in familiar scents, and memories began to break through the haze of rage that had settled over her mind.

"Dawn?" Eyes settling on the younger Summers, Buffy could easily see The Key that was infused inside of her. "Faith?"

They were her sisters. One by blood, the other by destiny. More memories fought through as the rage dissipated further. Her mother. "Sam."

Her family shivered at the eerie tone of her voice. It sounded weird, distant but full of menace. Finally, Anya stepped into her field of vision.

"Emissary." Willow acknowledged. Behind Anya, Dawn and Xander's eyes widened in horror. She sounded like Dark Willow again.

"Vengeance is done." Anya said flatly. "It has to stop here."

"There is one more, I believe." Willow refuted. A flash of light, and Robert Kinsey suddenly stood before them. Another was with him. Illyria, feeling the power surround the muck, had quickly grabbed on and allowed herself to be carried along.

"I am Illyria, God-King..." That was as far as she got before Willow's eyes flashed and she was sent flying backwards to crash into the shield. To the surprise of the Fang Gang, Illyria didn't even snarl back at the attack. She simply picked herself stiffly off the ground and watched with narrowed eyes what was happening.

"Buffy!" Sam yelled from where she was. She didn't even try to get past the shield, knowing that they were still too dangerous. "You can't kill him. He's too well known and too well connected. They will never stop looking for you."

"Death is too kind for the likes of him." Willow responded. "He must be made to suffer, as the others were made to suffer."

"No, not like them." Buffy said, reaching out to jerk Kinsey back into place as he tried to inch away from them. He threw a terrified glance over his shoulder in appeal. "This is the one that orchestrated it all. He also had a hand in the Initiative. Another fate awaits this one."

Before anyone could say anything else, Buffy snapped her fingers and the world froze. Only Buffy, Willow, Illyria and Anya were immune. Kinsey had also been shielded it as well.

"Who do you think you are?" Kinsey demanded with bravado. "Do you know who I am? I'll have your heads for this."

Buffy's hand around his throat choked off the rest of his tirade. "You should have kept to your petty _human_ power games. Now, _see_ what you have unleashed."

Forcing him to look her in the eye, Buffy released the tight hold that she kept on her aura. Kinsey saw damnation in her eyes, but couldn't look away no matter how hard he tried. He sank into the amber gold glare, and began to scream as the veil lifted, allowing him an unshielded look at what he had in his arrogance set free.

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

Sam blinked rapidly at the harsh bright light. She looked around wildly, trying to get her bearings. They were back outside of the bunker. All of them. Kinsey was curled on his side, staring straight ahead, his mouth wide-open in a soundless scream. Buffy and Willow were unconscious, curled around each other, looking for all the world as if they were sleeping peacefully.

"What happened?"

"Buffy showed him _exactly_ what his ambition had created." Osiris' Emissary answered wearily. "The human mind really isn't built to comprehend it, so his mind collapsed in on itself, for lack of a better explanation. He'll be little more than a vegetable from now until the day he dies." She turned to the Coven members. "Take them back. They will be weak and disoriented when they awaken. They need to be taught how to control the power that they now possess. We really don't need this kind of disaster happening again."

Nodded, Bridget took a step toward the girls, but was jerked back by a furious Air Force Colonel.

"I don't think so." Sam snarled. "Where do you think you're taking my daughter?"

"Oh, dear, I'm sorry." Bridget apologized, realizing that they'd never been introduced. "I am Bridget, Head of the Coven in Devon. The Emissary said that you were all on your way to us when all of this occurred. I am merely taking them there by a faster route."

"Anya, what is going on?" Sam demanded. "What happened to them?"

"I'll explain everything, but you have to let Bridget take them. The last thing we need is for them to wake up anywhere near those guys." Anya pointed to the bound men lying in rows in front of the vehicles. They were the soldiers that had run from the Slayer and Witch and surrendered.

Sam took a deep breath, then another, and finally let the witch go. "Fine. We'll be there in a few days, and they'd better be all right."

She clenched her fists when the Coven members surrounded the girls, chanted briefly, then vanished. The muscles in her back jerked slightly when Janet came up behind her and rubbed her back in small comfort, but other than that, she showed no visible reaction. "Anya, I'm tired. We've barely slept in almost a week. Tell me what is going on."

"Wow, Buffy really does come by the temper of her honestly, doesn't she?" Anya mused. "It's like this. Buffy's changing. So is Willow. Their changes were supposed to be gradual, over the next couple of months, to allow her body to process the changes. This whole thing with Willow changed that, however. Sending strength to Willow forced Buffy to tap into that power to replenish her own strength. That's why her eyes started to change and her power began to manifest. I know you guys thought she'd tapped into Willow's power when she teleported, but she didn't. That was all her."

Those gathered there gaped in shocked disbelief, but a glare from Sam kept everyone from actually saying anything.

"Her tapping into that power awoke the part of Sineya that's in every Slayer. Sineya, in turn, used an opportunity when Buffy and Willow were shot to pull them into wherever it is that she 'lived', and passed on her full power to them, half to Buffy and half to Willow. The Coven is safe. They can learn to harness and control the power so that it doesn't take them over like it just did. Separate, they're each as strong as the Old One here was in her prime, but together, they rank as one of The Nine."

"Oh, dear Lord." Everyone looked over at Wesley. The Scoobies actually expected him to be rubbing glasses.

Illyria took that moment to stand in front of the ex-Watcher. "I will no longer require your services as my Guide. I will reunite with those more worthy." She turned away and moved to stand before Sam. "I will travel with you."

Sam looked at her with a raised brow. "Umm, okay." She glanced at Janet, who smiled faintly and gave her a small shrug. She turned back to Anya. "So, what happens now?"

"They learn control." Anya answered. "They build walls and defenses, much like what Willow had done before. They come to terms with what happened to them, what they did, and what they are becoming. As well as the little fact that they are, indeed, mates."

Everyone looked startled. "Buffy and Willow? Mates?"

Anya nodded. "It seems strange to me as well. I can only assume that it is because they were so close growing up, that it never occurred to them that there were something more. Willow was always Buffy's Achilles' heel as much as Dawn was. Even Angelus recognized it."

"She's right." Faith spoke up. "Even I knew it. That's why I went after Red in the first place. Nothing can throw B off her game faster than Red, Little D or Mom in danger."

"I don't know how they connected the way that they did, but they are bound now." Anya finished. "There can be no secrets between them, and nothing will ever be able to separate them."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

Several hours later, in the boardroom of a hidden complex, a group of gentlemen sat around a conference room table. Setting before them was the latest report of the fiasco the Robert Kinsey had concocted. They were not surprised that he had failed. It had been inevitable in many of their minds. There had been no intentions of assisting either side until sources had revealed that the Slayer had contacts with the law offices of Wolfram & Hart, and those contacts had began looking into their dealings with Kinsey, the NID and the Trust.

"As the board can clearly see, we were wise to remain out of this endeavor." Began the man at the 'head' of the table. "Although we were prepared to make reparations if Kinsey succeeded, I know that the majority had no doubts of the inevitable conclusion. While his initial plan went into effect without a hitch, he underestimated the power and resources of the Opposition. However, there are new factors that must now be taken into consideration.

Point number one, despite multiple efforts to bring the Witch to heel, she successfully resisted all such efforts. Furthermore, any efforts requiring entrance into her mind usually ended in insanity, whether by level of power, or by possible booby traps in her mental defenses, or even a combination of both.

Point number two, the Slayer apparently has a link of some kind with the Witch, that she was eventually able to use to locate her. When she became desperate, it seems as though the Slayer was able to tap into the Witch's power, as evidenced when she magically conjured the weapon that she used to destroy the modified force field that was installed around the bunker, in such a way that completely overloaded the power generator.

Point three, between them, the Slayer and the Witch inflicted at least 67 percent of the human causalities by themselves, not counting the damages inflicted by the belated efforts of SGC and the Slayer's own allies, or the inclusion of the demons that suddenly appeared. Kinsey actions have obviously pushed them both over an unknown line, as it is normally against the Slayer's calling to kill humans. The short but numerous clips of video have also indicated that they were moving fast enough they could afford to wade straight through sustained barrage of various military and alien hardware; indications are the Witch can shield in such a way that projectile and energy fire is useless. The Slayer basically ignored what didn't miss, even volleys of Zat fire proving ineffective, apparently doing nothing more than irritating her."

"What do we know of the physical changes that the Slayer and the Witch underwent?"

"Unfortunately, nothing. The tech that forwarded us this information and the videos simply said that they were shot to death, then revived with the changes shown in the video being present."

"Can we assume that the physical changes and newly acquired abilities are somehow connected?"

"A reasonable assumption."

"Have we come to any conclusions regarding the Slayer, the Witch and their allies?"

The 'head' of the table answered. "We will no longer have any dealings regarding the Slayer, the Witch or their friends. Activities regarding the Stargate Project are suspended until this situation dies down, and once restarted, will be limited to information gathering only. We must be very careful to avoid coming to the attention of SG-1, especially now that Jack O'Neill is being placed in command of the base should he ever awaken from the stasis chamber in the Ancient's Antarctica outpost."


	23. Chapter TwentyTwo

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sam was frustrated. She wanted to go straight to England, see that her child was all right with her own eyes, but she knew that she had to return to the SGC and report to General Hammond about what had happened here, as well as make sure that Kinsey was attended to. She knew that with a situation like this, the debriefing could take hours, if not days. She didn't want to wait that long.

"Anya, could you come with us back to the base and speak with the General." Sam asked the Emissary. "We have to report what happened here, and you understand parts of it a lot better than we do. We need to know what we'll be dealing with in regards to Buffy and Willow."

"Of course." Anya nodded. "But we'll need to get Giles. He has information that you will all need. Buffy and Willow will have to be told when they have recovered."

"Fine. Let's go."

Everyone piled into their respective vehicles and made their way back to the airport. Instead of boarding the Wolfram & Hart jet, however, they all made their way to the military transport plane in an isolated hanger. As the plane prepared for take-off, Sam contacted the SGC. "General Hammond, the situation has been resolved. We are en route back to the base with the prisoners."

"And the young women?" Hammond asked.

"They were taken to a secure location to recover." Sam answered after a slight hesitation. "It was better this way, sir."

"Very well." Hammond said after a moment. "I'll expect a full debriefing after you arrive."

"Yes, sir."

When they arrived back at Cheyenne Mountain, Janet took Kinsey straight to the infirmary and Sam and the others went to the conference room. Sam paused only long enough to arrange for the prisoners to be taken into custody by the MPs on base. In the conference room, she finally, finally relaxed enough to drop her head on the desk and try to slow the whirling in her head. Everything was happening so fast, she barely knew what to do next.

"Are you okay?" Dawn asked, sitting next to her.

"Is this what you kids have been dealing with all this time?" Sam asked tiredly. "How did you do it?"

"Probably the same way you dealt with your alien stuff." Dawn shrugged. "I don't think it's that different. I mean, I know that you were trained for it, but we grew up with this, and we've had to deal with it every day for most of our lives. Do something long enough, and it just becomes a part of life."

"You shouldn't be dealing with it at all." Sam said fiercely. "You're just _children_. You should be worrying about getting a good education and getting jobs, not saving the world and surviving the night."

"Believe it or not, Buffy says the same thing. She's been trying to get me and Xander and Willow to live normal lives for the longest time now, but we couldn't just let her do this by herself. Even Cordy, who got out of Sunnydale as fast as she could, still ended up fighting the fight."

"I just wish there was something more that I could do."

"There is. Be there for Buffy." Dawn said simply. "Be someone that she can talk to when it gets to be too much. We've all messed up on that part a lot lately, and she doesn't open up to us like she used to. She's been the hero for so long, that we kinda forget that she's just as human as the rest of us. I don't know if she told you this but, the first time Caleb and the First hit us really, really hard, a few of the girls died and Caleb gouged out Xander's eye. We all sorta freaked out and ended up kicking Buffy out. We'd never been beaten that bad before, you know, and we all blamed Buffy, because she was the one who was in charge. She was supposed to have all the answers and keep us all safe, and when she didn't, we panicked and turned on her."

"Well, that explains some of the tension I've been picking up from you guys." Sam commented. "I don't understand, though. After all this time, why turn on her now?"

Dawn looked down at the table as she thought, really thought about the answer to that question. Suddenly, she felt so much older than her seventeen years. "I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that she had shut herself off from us." She finally said. "When I was younger, before I knew about all of this, I used to be so jealous of how close she was to Xander and Willow and even Giles. They shared every part of her life, and I knew that there was more than what she was telling me and Mom. I think Mom was even jealous of Giles for a while. Then stuff started happening. I don't know all of it, but she started closing herself off from everyone. For me, things were really bad after Mom died. Buffy just kinda shut down, and I hated her for it. I didn't think about how she had to deal with Mom suddenly dying and finding her and taking care of me and still having to worry about Glory. It was like she didn't even care. It was the same when the girls died and she wanted to go right back there and we were all really freaking out and it just went downhill from there. We accused her of not caring enough to even know their names, but she was willing to get them killed, and when she told us that she did know the name of every girl that died, that she saw their faces in her sleep, I felt so guilty. I always thought it would be so cool to have the powers of a Slayer, but I never thought about what it would be like _to be_ the Slayer."

Sam put her arms around the young girl as she wiped tears from her eyes. "We never would have known that Buffy was in Heaven if it wasn't for me. She never would have told us. She never really threw our mistakes back in our faces unless it was necessary. I mean, I never would have known that Xander had lied to Buffy about Angel if they hadn't been fighting over Buffy having to kill Anya when she became a demon again. I think the closest Buffy ever came to turning on us was when Willow took me to a magic dealer and then my arm got broken because she was driving while she was still high. Buffy was furious. She basically told Willow to get help or get out because she wouldn't allow her to risk my life."

Sam stayed quiet, realizing that Dawn needed to get this out. The young brunette laid her head on Sam's shoulder as she continued. "I don't think Buffy would have left if it hadn't been for me and Willow. I think that if we had stood by her, she would have fought everyone else, but Willow sided with Kennedy and I told her to leave. She had that same look from when Hank had her institutionalized after Hemery. Then she was gone and Kennedy and the others were cheering and I just felt so sick. I wanted to run out there and beg her to come back, but I couldn't move, and Willow kept saying, over and over, that it was for the best, and I remember wondering if she really felt like that or if she was trying to make herself believe it."

"Have you told any of this to Buffy?" Sam asked quietly.

Dawn shook her head. "We haven't really spoken much at all. We were all just starting to talk to each other again when you guys showed up."

"I think all of you need to sit down and really talk all of this out." Sam suggested. "Get it all out on the table and deal with these issues. Don't let them fester any more than they already have. Take it from someone who knows."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

Buffy's senses began to catalogue the world around her the moment she shifted from unconsciousness to normal sleep. Rain, rich soil, lots of people, heavy on the magic, Willow in her arms, someone in the room with them. With their most recent ordeal still at the forefront, Buffy was suddenly on her feet in a fighter's stance between Willow and the intruder before she was completely awake.

"Be at peace." The woman said. Buffy recognized her, barely, from her foggy memories. "I am Bridget. I head the Coven in Devon. You have been brought here for safe haven."

"Devon?" Buffy relaxed slightly. "We're at the Coven in England?"

Bridget nodded. "You were brought here after you collapsed after your rescue of your mate. The Emissary, Anya, said that you were on your way here to learn to control your new abilities. I must tell you that, after what I have seen, I am grateful that you have shown such initiative. After the problems that Willow had last year, it is good to know that she is not traveling back down that same path."

Buffy was no longer listening. She had tuned the woman out after the first sentence, and turned back to look down at Willow. _My mate_, she thought in wonder as her gaze traced the smooth, pain-free lines of her friend's face. She had read about a Slayer's mate only once, but it was such a rare phenomenon, that she'd assumed it would never happen to her. It was even rarer than a Slayer living past her teens. A mate was the Slayer's perfect compliment, able to handle both the human and the Slayer personality, and love them both.

"How come we didn't know before?" Buffy asked.

"Anya thinks that it was because you were such friends when you were children. Neither of you were ready for such a deep relationship at the time, so you rationalized it and became the closest of friends." Bridget chuckled. "She says that she has seen it happen in couples who have grown up together. I must admit, your friend is an 'interesting' individual, even for an Emissary of a God."

Buffy glanced at her and smiled. "Anya used to be a vengeance demon. She's given 'blunt' a whole new meaning."

Bridget laughed. "Yes, well. I just wanted someone to be with you when you awoke, so that you would not panic. Now that you have awakened, I will leave you to rest."

Buffy nodded as the woman left, closing the door gently behind her. She was still staring at Willow as the redhead slept peacefully. She looked inside herself, at everything that they had all been through in the last few years. She had always loved Willow, but when had it turned from the love of a friend, to the love of, well, a love?

"Buffy?" Cloudy green eyes blinked open.

"Hey there." Buffy smoothed red hair from her face. "How are you feeling?"

"Fuzzy." Willow's gaze focused and she looked around. "What happened? Where are we?"

"England." Buffy said. "At the Coven. They came and got us and brought us back here. What do you remember?"

"Everything." Willow lay back on the bed, tears in her eyes. "Buffy, we killed all those people. What's happening to us?"

"I think whatever changes we were going through were somehow accelerated." Buffy told her, then her eyes flashed. "As for those people, they were torturing you, Will. They were willing to kill us. They deserved what they got."

"But..."

"No!" Buffy cut her off, her voice deepening into a growl as her fury surged. "I know what they did to you. Every little bit. Sineya or no Sineya, I was going to kill them anyway. People like that are worse than the demons."

"Okay, Buffy, okay." Willow soothed, sniffing back her tears. "You have to calm down. I can feel the power rising to swallow us again." After a few minutes, and several deep breaths, Willow felt the power in them begin to taper off. "What do we do now?"

Buffy replied with a look of iron resolve gracing her features. "Now we do what we originally planned to do. Learn control. What happened might have just been because of everything you went through, and my reactions to it since we've somehow become connected, but we can't take that chance. We need to be able to control whatever Sineya did to us."


	24. Chapter TwentyThree

A/N: Yes, yes, I know we jumped the Angel timeline. It was done on purpose because we wanted Illyria in the story.

Chapter Twenty-Three

General Hammond entered the conference room and took his place at the head of the table. This entire situation made his head hurt. Since this was a virtually unsanctioned operation, there would be no written reports filed, but from the nearly hysterical ramblings of the men in his lock-up, he wanted a clear picture of what exactly happened and what they were dealing with now.

"Colonel Carter, what happened in Nevada?" He asked as everyone settled down.

"Kinsey screwed up for the last time, sir." Sam replied. "He arranged for the kidnapping of Willow Rosenberg. He tortured her in what we assume, from Buffy's words, was an attempt to break down her mental defenses to control her and her power. Unfortunately, his actions have set off a chain of events that no one could have foreseen, and Kinsey himself has been rendered into a completely vegetative state."

"What are we dealing with, Colonel?"

"I'm not entirely sure, sir." She told him starkly. "Anya has agreed to explain what happened to Buffy and Willow and what it means."

Hammond sighed internally. He had hoped to keep this whole matter in a realm he could control. Apparently, it looked like that wasn't to be. Before Anya could start, the conference room phone rang. With a sigh, he picked it up. "Hammond." He listened for a moment, then said. "Escort them down."

A few minutes later, Giles and the Finns entered with their escorts. Giles was carrying a manila folder and looked like he hadn't slept for days. Sam and Riley had split from the rest of the group to pick up the Watcher since Anya had told them that he would be necessary. He paused long enough to squeeze Dawn's shoulder in comfort before taking the seat that was brought in for him.

"This whole stupid situation has elevated the changes that were happening to the Slayer and the Witch." Anya started. "I told Buffy and Willow that they would go through changes that were necessary to fulfill Osiris' plans for them, right?" Most of them nodded. "Well, that wasn't necessarily true. The complete truth is that they would have gone through the changes regardless. Osiris decided that their knowledge of what they were becoming should be told to them as gradually as the changes occurred, to avoid any undue stress. They have become more than merely a Slayer and a Witch. Together they are the living avatars for one of the most powerful of the Nine. Giles?"

Taking a deep breath, Giles stood and began handing out papers from the folder. "Shortly before the rescue, Anya brought to my attention a prophecy that predates even the birth of the Slayer Line. I wrote it down and made copies for everyone."

The Scoobies and the Fang Gang all looked up at him in surprise. From their expressions, Hammond gathered that the news was not something they encountered often and, for some reason, that worried him even more. He turned his attention to the papers before him.

_From the victory of the End of Days,_

_Shall Neutrality be Reborn,_

_And the Return be set in motion._

_From the ashes of its rescuers,_

_Shall Evil be set free,_

_And retake it's rightful place,_

_from the Servants that attempted to become the Masters._

_With the rise of the Two,_

_Shall Good be reawakened,_

_And the eternal battle once again be waged._

Hammond looked back at the complete lack of sound in the crowded room. Needless to say, he was _not_ reassured by the pale faces surrounding him. The two gentlemen that had been introduced as Angel and Spike were not just pale, they were completely white. Only the one they called Illyria looked undisturbed. "What does this mean?"

Clearing his throat, Giles began cleaning his glasses as he went into full lecture-mode. "Despite popular mythology, the world did not begin as a paradise. According to all records that we have seen, demons controlled this realm until Humans evolved enough to cast them out. However, if what Anya has told me about the 'Lanteans', even that might not be the whole truth. Regardless, there was a hierarchy among the demons. There were the Lesser Demons and the Higher Demons, then those known now as the Old Ones, of which Angel tell me Illyria is one and, according to books that I have found in the Library on the island, not all of the demons were evil. Many of them were good. They were even referred to as Angels, and the ones that were rivals to the Old Ones were known as Seraphim. Above the Old Ones and the Seraphim, however, were The Nine. Three of pure Evil, three of pure Good and three that were completely Neutral. The Neutrals did nothing more than maintain the balance between the others. The three most powerful of the Nine were Delcathas of the Demons, Sineya of the Neutrals, and Nemeria of the Angelics."

"What does this have to do with the current situation, Mr. Giles?"

"Anything that has reached the level of Old One, Seraphim, or higher cannot truly be killed. Their bodies can be destroyed, but their essence is eternal. We know that the essences of most of the Nine was absorbed by Delcathas, who dubbed himself The First Evil. Sineya was attacked, but was later used to create the First Slayer, and records say that Nemeria disappeared at some point before she could be attacked. All of the others were driven off by Human mages, rival members of the Nine or their own servants. This prophecy, General, states that at least three of the them are returning."


	25. Chapter TwentyFour

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Mr. Giles, do you mean to tell me that there are two God-like beings walking around freely with no control of their...powers?" General Hammond asked tightly. "Just how much of a threat do these young women pose?"

"They could kill you all with a thought, or make you suffer for an eternity." Anya said bluntly. "But lucky for you, they are well grounded with their human souls, and will not destroy the world that they have spent their lives protecting. You should forget your first thought, General. Putting tracers or watchers on either of them would be a very, very bad idea. You saw how well they reacted to your 'surveillance' the last time. They are just beginning to trust you because of Sam and Janet. Breaking that trust is not advisable. They are learning to control their new abilities and it's not them that you need to worry about anyway."

"I beg your pardon?" He asked incredulously. "There's something more?"

"Didn't you read the prophecy that Giles just gave you?" Anya snapped, losing her patience. "They are just the first step. They _are_ Neutrality. When Sineya passed on her power, she passed on the mantle as well, and evolved to the next level. It was supposed to be just Buffy, but she always manages to screw up her prophecies. I can't even contemplate how they ended up sharing the power. They need to be able to fully control their power before the other two return as well."

"Evolved into what?" Dawn asked.

"Sineya has become an Elder. When she is ready, she will take her place in the Pantheon. The Elders, many who have come to be recognized by humans as cultural deities, including Osiris, do not interfere unless specifically requested. That's were the Temples and sacrifices come from."

Daniel opened his mouth to ask another question, but Janet discreetly kicked his foot and mouthed 'not now' when he turned startled eyes on her.

Hammond re-read the page in front of him. With the Emissary referring to the young women as Neutrality, it was not difficult to ascertain who the other two were. "What is this eternal battle?"

"That one that we thought was finished with the End of Days." Giles said wearily. "It seems that fighting The First was just another round, and that it will begin again with these three."

"Two, actually." Anya interrupted.

"I beg your pardon?" Giles turned to her.

"The battle is only between two. Good and Evil. Buffy's job is different now. Her role is to maintain the Balance between them. That is what the Neutrals do. They police the others. It's rare that the Angelics would need to be called to task, but Demons take every advantage to cheat. If given free reign, whichever Demon of the Nine that returns will overrun this dimension with servants and minions. It will be Buffy and Willow's job to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Boy, did _they_ get a crappy job. I hope they got a better payment plan than this one." Xander remarked from his seat, earning him an irritated glare that immediately shut him up.

"The Angelics were gone, and their Seraphim were severely weakened. Sineya allowed herself to be used by the Shadowmen because it was the only way that the Balance could be maintained, because one of the Elders told her that it was necessary. The Slayer was never meant to _win_ against the hordes of demons on this world, merely keep them from overrunning until the return of these three. For centuries the Slayers understood that. They destroyed the demons that needed to be destroyed, and let the others live, just like Buffy. The Balance tipped when pride, greed, and prejudice corrupted the Watchers Council, which in turn corrupted the Slayers, by cutting them off from the rest of the world and then indoctrinating them to kill all demons, not just the Evil ones. The Slayers were never meant to be isolated. Regardless of their calling, they are mostly human, and they need human contact. Buffy, even though she doesn't realize it, is the first to fully return to the old ways. She even taught Kendra and Faith that same lesson before Kendra died and Faith was swallowed up by her own darkness. The strength of her will to stand against what she had been told was the status quo, her experiences and everything that she suffered is what made her able to become the Avatar. The same can be said for Willow as well, but in different context. Willow has been on both sides of the fence, and now she is somewhere in the middle."

"I don't understand." Hammond admitted. "What is so special about these three?"

"They will pick up where Buffy and the others left off. The battle has moved beyond this world. There will still be demons and slayers and Champions, but nothing on the scale of The First for many, many centuries. I don't know where the other two are, but I do know that they are not here on Earth. Osiris suspects that it is because so many were taken from this world."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

The blonde woman lounged in her chair as she listened to the bickering of her counterparts. The inconceivable had happened. Their lord, Anubis, had been destroyed by the Taur'i, and now there was a vacuum of power that they needed to seal before the other System Lords regrouped.

"Enough!" Osiris shouted. "Now is _not_ the time to be fighting amongst ourselves. The others will most assuredly attempt to destroy us and all others that followed Anubis, and we _must_ be ready. Our only option is to band together for now. We have the Super Soldiers, as well as the advanced mother-ships. For now, we have the upper hand, and we need to make sure that we keep it."

"I concur." Baba-Yaga agreed. "It will not be long before word of our Lord's demise reaches the all of the System Lords, and they will want revenge for all they have suffered at his hands. We would be the most likely targets."

"Especially you, Osiris." Ammit observed. "You were the liaison to the other System Lords. More than likely, they will come for you first. What keeps up from delivering you as an offer of peace?"

"Besides the mere fact that I am far, far out of your reach?" Osiris said derisively. "You do not think I would trust any of you, do you? Just because your boundaries are clearly defined, doesn't mean that we are all so short-sighted. My host was born of this day and age, _and_ of the Taur'i, and therefore I am more aware of what they are capable of when cornered. While I did not think that they could defeat Anubis, I was not foolish enough _not_ to make plans, just in case." She waited, letting that sink in. "Now, as I said before, we must pool our resources to make sure that we keep what is ours by right of our Lord. First to secure ourselves with the System Lords, then to take our revenge on the Taur'i."

"Agreed." Baba-Yaga and Ammit said.

They made tentative plans for the next few hours before cutting their transmissions. Osiris sat back, deep in thought. No matter what happened, she already had several plans ready to be put in motion. She would let the others consolidate themselves, then she would make her move. She fully intended to have everything that Anubis left behind. The others could go to hell.She would wait as they squabbled like primta to divide to bounty, then she would sweep in and take it all. It was her turn to rule.

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

The debriefing ended a short time later. Hammond, visibly shaken from all that he had been told, returned to his office to call the President with this new information. He was very much _not_ looking forward to making that call. Angel and his team were escorted topside and released so that they could return to Los Angeles, as were Xander and Faith, who checked into a hotel and booked the first flight back to Cleveland.

Deciding not to bother her house-sitter, Sam allowed Janet to talk her into returning to the Doctor's home for the night, along with Dawn and their new traveling companion, Illyria, who had once again taken the form of Fred Burkle. In less than twelve hours, they would be on a plane to England. It would have been sooner, but Janet wanted to let Cassie go as well, and that mean letting her teenage know what was happened, give her time to get packed, and leave a message at Cassie's high school.

"Mom, where are we going?" Cassie asked as they headed for NORAD's private airport. The Cheyenne Air Force Base maintained a dozen or so commercial small airplanes for the personal use of the officers that liked to do their own flying.

"We're going to England to visit Sam's daughter." Janet answered.

Cassie's eyes opened wide. Sam and Janet had told her about Sam's daughter when she had overheard them talking about her one day. "I thought she was in California."

"She was, but the town that she lived in sank." Janet told her. "There were some problems after we managed to track them down, and one of her friends was kidnapped by the NID, and now they're in England, recovering. We're going there to make sure that they are all right."

"Why did the NID want them?" Cassie asked curiously. "Because she's Sam's daughter? Wouldn't they have done it before now?"

"Well, it seems that there is more to this planet than we ever knew about." Janet responded. She and Sam had long ago decided to answer Cassie's questions as honestly as her particular clearance allowed, and completely in terms of their private lives as her age allowed. Thankfully, especially in this case, her clearance allowed for everything but gate travel. "Abilities like what you manifested because of Niirti's genetic manipulation seem to be a little more natural to some here. Sam's daughter, Buffy, and her best friend, Willow, are two such people. Some powerful beings, kind of like the Ascended, conspired to keep the information from us."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that although the military knew about Buffy and her friends, and what they've been doing, the fact that she was related to Sam was somehow hidden. Even when Buffy was recruited by a military group, the background check didn't pick up that she was adopted."

Cassie's eyes went very wide. "How did _that_ happen? Those checks are usually enough to find how an ant farm was colonized."

Janet chuckled and, after introducing Cassie to Dawn and Illyria, who had been waiting for them on the plane, she spent the flight relating to Cassie everything they had seen and learned since Major Davis' appearance last week.


	26. Chapter TwentyFive

Chapter Twenty-Five

Buffy and Willow were waiting for them when they arrived at the Coven. As soon as she was out of the car, Sam grabbed Buffy and hugged her hard, before taking a step back to looked at both of them closely. When she saw that they were healthy and whole, she managed to calm down enough to let the others see the young women as well. Dawn had jumped into her sister's arms with an abandon that Buffy hadn't seen since Dawn was a little girl.

"Oh God, Buffy," She cried, burying her face in her older sister's neck. "I was so scared."

"We're okay, Dawnie." Buffy whispered into her hair, hugging her back tightly. She felt Willow's arms surround them both. "I'm sorry we frightened you."

"I wasn't scared _of_ you, Buffy." Dawn clarified quickly, pulling back to look at them both. "I was scared _for _you. There's a difference. I was scared that you had been hurt, or worse, that the magic had got you. I know that you don't usually kill humans, but we all heard you describe what they were doing to Willow. They deserved what happened to them. They were worse than demons. At least with demons, it what they're supposed to do. Those men had no reason and no right to do what they were doing. I don't care what excuse they had."

Buffy hugged her tightly once more, then looked up at the others. "Hi, Janet. You must be Cassie." She stiffened as she focused on the slender, brown haired woman that had accompanied them. "Who are you, and why are you in Fred's body?"

Illyria was wise enough _not_ to approach them as arrogantly as she had the last time. She could clearly sense both who and what these beings were rapidly becoming, and the memories of her shell told her who they used to be. "I am Illyria. I was once God-King who ruled these lands with impunity."

"You're an Old One!" Willow said, surprised. "How did you escape the Deeper Well?"

Illyria shifted into her own form. "When I knew that I would be defeated, I put my own plans in place to be spirited from my prison and regain my rightful place. My priest retrieved my vessel and arranged for my new shell," She indicated her body. "but it has been too long, and my army is now ashes. The _muck_ known to you as Wesley agreed to be my guide in this strange world, but I have decided that you would are infinitely more worthy."

Willow had been studying her closely with her inner eye during the explanation. She could see that very little of Winifred Burkle remained in the body, but she could also see where the immense power was straining against the constraints of the humanoid body.

_'Buffy, look deeper at her.'_ Willow said to her mate, using their mental connection. _'Do you see it?'_

Buffy concentrated to the blue-tinted woman, using the skills that Willow and Bridget had taught her of her new powers. After a moment, she could see the 'cracks' in Illyria's form, and the sparking magic that seemed to be trying to burst out. _'What's wrong with her?'_

Willow thought quickly. _'Remember what Sineya said kept going on about our 'shells'. She said that your shell was strong enough because of who you are, being a Slayer, and what you've experienced, and mine was strong enough because the primal magicks strengthened it, but Fred was completely human. I don't think her human body is strong enough to contain the power of an Old One. I think it's coming apart.'_

_'Can we help her?' _Buffy asked.

_'Should we? I mean, she essentially killed Fred.'_

_'It wasn't her, though, was it?'_ Buffy asked thoughtfully_. 'It was whoever sent the 'vessel' to Fred. I seriously doubt that this one even knew what the shell was before, but since she's been in it, she hasn't gone on a rampage and killed everyone she's come across, and if I'm sensing her right, she was one of the Demons.'_

Willow had to admit that was true. She turned her attention back to the blue woman. "You said that Wesley was acting as your 'guide'. What do you mean?"

"He was attempting to teach me to 'fit in' this world, since the old ways no longer apply. He has also attempted to convince me that humans have evolved into more than the insignificant muck that you once were."

"And you would rather we took on this role?" Buffy scoffed. "Why, and what do we get out of it?"

"You are more worthy." Illyria stated. "In return, I will bind myself to your service. I can sense what it is that you are becoming, and I have glimpsed the magnificence of your _true_ nature. You are Avatars of Neutrality, yet your humanity has made you become even more. I will stand at your side as you walk your path to greatness. No other is worthy to command me."

"Your Master will rise soon." Buffy told her bluntly. "What's to keep you from betraying us to your own nature?"

"You make the mistake that all others before have." Illyria stated. "You attempt to place us in concepts that do not apply. My nature is not 'evil', as the muck consider it. That is a purely 'human' concept. Pure demons are not weighed down by frailties such as morals, ethics or consciences. You may consider my actions 'evil', but to me, they were done according to who and what I am. If I bind myself into your service, then I am yours, and yours alone."

Buffy and Willow thought about that, going through the memories that Sineya had left them. The others remained silent during the exchange, even Cassie who, even though she didn't know what was going on, realized that it was serious.

"She's right, in a way." The witch said.

Buffy shot her a disbelieving look. "Okay, you're gonna have to explain that one to me."

"Later." Willow spoke to Illyria once again. "You realize that your 'shell' is weakening, don't you? The human body was not designed to contain that much raw, primal power."

"Your shell holds." Illyria responded. In truth, she had felt that something was wrong, and had wondered about it.

"My power was of this Earth, this dimension, and it built gradually over time." Willow told her. "By the time Sineya passed her power to me, my body was acclimated to wielding such massive energies. You flooded a body with no such reinforcements, and it's breaking down because of it."

"As for the other thing, we'll discuss it." Buffy interrupted.

Sam didn't know what Willow had eventually explained to Buffy, but in the end, they had decided to accept Illyria's pledge. After she bound herself to the Slayer and the Witch, they offered to strengthen her 'shell'. During the next few weeks, Sam truly got to know her daughter. Her likes and dislikes, the ups and downs of her life. They talked about her deaths and touched on her time spent in Heaven. They even talked about their respective dealings with the NID, and Sam told her about her dad, Selmac and Jolinar. Buffy found Sam's world as fascinating as Sam found Buffy's.

"You okay, Sam?" Janet asked, bringing her out of her thoughts. They were relaxing while Buffy and Willow were training with the High Priestess.

"I wish I had known about Joyce," Sam answered sadly. "And not just for Buffy. She was my best friend in college, Janet, and I didn't even get to visit her grave because of the whims of some so-called higher power."

"I'm sorry, Sammie." Janet pulled her into a hug, her heart breaking at the hurt in her friend's voice.

"No one, and nothing, should have that kind of power, especially if they're going to abuse it like that." Sam cried. "They had no _right_ to keep that kind of information from me. We could have helped her, Janet. _Islave_." Suddenly, Sam thought of something else. "That Whistler guy intercepted the letter to me, what if they did the same with Hank? Buffy and Dawn have spent all this time thinking that he didn't care enough to even come to Joyce's funeral, but what if he was never notified. If they can intercept my notice, what's to say that they didn't intercept his too, or redirect their calls when they tried to reach him? What if he still doesn't know?" could have helped her. All because they wanted to keep her under their thumb. That's not a Champion, that's a

"And if you find out that he did get _his_ notification, and still ignored them?" Janet asked. She had no doubts that if she had died before her husband did, that he wouldn't have bothered coming to her funeral or taking care of her daughter. Some men were just those types of bastards.

"Then fuck him." Sam responded angrily.

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

"So, can you do magic too?" Cassie asked curiously.

"A little bit." Dawn shrugged, then a sad look crossed her face. "Willow and Tara were just starting to teach me before Tara died."

"I'm sorry." Cassie said immediately. "I didn't mean to make you sad."

"It's okay." Dawn reassured her. "Even sad, I like to remember Tara. She was special to us."

"Will you tell me about her?"

"Sure, but not right now. That's a conversation for chocolate and Kleenex." Dawn stretched out on the bed. "What about you? What's it like having a soldier mom? Have you been through the gate thing?"

Cassie blinked in surprise. "You know about the Stargate?"

"Yeah." Dawn bounced excitedly. "That is so awesome. Going from planet to planet and actually finding other _humans_ out there. I mean, I know that the Goudes are the Big Bads of the Universe and everything, but other than that, you guys have got to be having soooo much fun! So, have you been through it?"

"Umm, I'm actually from one of the other planets." Cassie said quietly, for some reason compelled to honesty with her new friend. After all, according to her mother, Dawn's life was just as weird. "The Goa'uld killed everyone in my village and left me for SG-1 to find. They put a bomb in my chest to blow up the Stargate."

Dawn stopped bouncing and stared at her in wide-eyed horror. "Oh my God! I am so sorry. Are you okay? Did they take it out? Did they find the one that did it and kill it?"

Cassie eyes widened with each question. She hadn't expected to be believed without question. She hadn't believed her mom's story about these people this quickly. "Um, well, no. The bomb stuff kinda absorbs back into my body unless I'm close to the Stargate. If I'm near it for too long, it will start to regrow."

"You should ask the Coven Leader." Dawn suggested. "Maybe one of the Healers can get it out of you for good."

Cassie made a non-committal sound. "What's it like to have a super-hero for a sister?"

"Not really as nifty as advertised. It's all worrying and fighting and more worrying, and after the fighting and the worrying, we usually end up patching her up, or burying her."

Now, it was Cassie's turn to look horrified. She didn't know what to say and, for an uncomfortable moment, it was completely silent. Then Dawn seemed to shake it off. "Let's go find out where the younger people are. If we're gonna be staying here for a while, I'd rather be with people closer to our own age."

Grabbing her arm, Dawn dragged a still shocked Cassie out of their room.


	27. Chapter TwentySix

Chapter Twenty-Six

"Hey, Buffy." Dawn joined her sister on the terrace, following her gaze up into the night sky.

"Hey, Dawnie." Buffy returned with a smile. "How ya holding up?"

"Getting better." Dawn admitted wryly. "You guys had us crazy worried. How are you?"

"Peachy with a side of keen." Buffy grinned, then the grin faded. "What happened to the ones that got out and that man that did all this?"

"We took them to your mom's boss. God, Buffy, that place is _so_ cool! It's like 30 feet under a mountain with a medical facility, a training floor and all kinds of science labs. Daniel, who's their version of a younger Giles, has this office where he translates alien languages."

Buffy smiled at her exuberance. "She's your mom too, you know."

"You're my mom, Buffy." Dawn shrugged at the wide-eyed look she received. "I took biology and sex-ed before school was closed. I was made from your blood and your DNA. That makes me either your daughter or your twin, and we obviously aren't twins, and like Luke Skywalker, I have no father." Dawn scrunched her nose up. "I've got to stop watching movies with Andrew."

Buffy didn't know what to say.

"I mean, I'm not gonna start calling you mom or anything. All our memories are of being sisters" Dawn paused, then laid her head on her sister's shoulder. Buffy automatically rested her head against the brunette's, a soft smile on her face. They hadn't been together like this since their lives had gone to hell, both literally and figuratively. "Buffy, I really am sorry about what happened that night. We should have trusted you more, and even if we didn't, we, _I_ had no right to kick you out."

"Dawn..."

"No!" Her voice was emphatic, but she didn't move. Buffy could see her hands clench into fists. Reaching down, she forced them open and tangled the fingers with her own. Dawn held on as if she would never let go again. "I know that we were all hurting and scared, but that was no right to be so heartless. I mean, none of us expected to be beaten so badly, and we shouldn't have blamed you for it."

"You guys weren't completely wrong, Dawn." Buffy said quietly. She felt Dawn's body jerk in response, but the girl refused to lift her head. Buffy also heard Willow's gasp from behind them. "I knew their names, but I didn't know _who_ they were. Not like you guys did. It wasn't because I didn't care, though. I did, Dawnie, I really did, but I was also trying so very hard to figure out some way to _not_ get them killed, that I never got the chance. I didn't want them to fight, but Kennedy's Watcher had her believing that she couldn't lose, and she psyched up the others, and then they flat out told me that they would go out alone if necessary just to be in the fight. On top of all that, the Scythe was calling to me so, so strongly. It was practically pulling me to the vineyard."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "I know it seemed like I was ignoring you guys, and I was, in a way. You guys were all treating it like the regular, run-of-the-mill Big Bad, but I _knew_ this was different. I had already faced The First once, and Angel tried to greet the sun because of it. I tried to make you understand that, but no one was listening, not even Giles; so I knew that I was going to have to come up with my own plan. Then the Scythe was uncovered and, God, the call was so strong and everything went through a shredder before flushing down the toilet."

She shifted so that she could wrap her arms around her silently crying sister and held her tightly. "So, you see, it wasn't just you guys. Some of it was my fault too, and that's why it was so easy to forgive, if not necessarily forget. There will be trust issues for a while, but we'll get there."

Willow finally stepped up behind the Summers sisters and wrapped her arms around them both. "That's what we do after all, right? We're Scoobies. Sometimes, all we have are each other."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

Daniel looked in awe at the massive library that he was standing in. This was a historian's dream come true. There were books older than anything he'd ever touched. His fingers were actually twitching.

"Dr. Jackson?"

"Oh, Dr. Giles!" Daniel spun around. He glanced around again, like a kid in a candy store, before reluctantly focusing on the older man. "We've finished setting up the rings on the island. Major Finn has contacted his commanding officer about allowing some of his people to transfer into the SGC. They will become a SG team, but their primary duties will be base security and liaising between our groups."

"Excellent." Giles said dryly. "Once your people withdraw, I will set up the safeguards. Please make sure that your General reminds them that no one will be allowed on the island without explicit permission, and the safeguards _will_ insure that. The safeguards are lethal, and since we have ambassadorial status in every country, we will not be held responsible if our warnings are not heeded."

For a moment, it all sounded like overkill to the linguist, but then he remembered the atrocities that his own government had just perpetrated on an innocent young girl, simply for her 'supernatural' abilities.

"Dr. Giles, would it be possible if I could make use of your library?" Daniel finally broke down and asked. "Many of these works were thought to be lost, and some of them could possibly help with my translations for the SGC. Many of the cultures that we encounter in our travels are originally from Earth, and the languages are usually derivatives of dead or ancient languages.

Giles was already shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Dr. Jackson. These books are essential to what we do, and too often we need them at a moment's notice. However, when you are on Earth, with enough time to get away from the base, then you are welcome to bring your work and utilize the library."

"Will you remain here on the island alone?" Daniel asked curiously.

"I was thinking of hiring a staff, actually. The building next door seems to be a dormitory of sorts, and now that we do not need to track down Potentials, it will be easier to concentrate on the prophecies and possible apocalypses."

"Won't those stop, now that the battle has been taken off world?"

Giles shook his head. "There are still demons on Earth, Dr. Jackson, as well as Hellmouths. As long as the two exist, there will always be apocalypses and there will always be a Slayer."

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

On a Far Off Planet…

"My Lord." An armor-clad man with a golden symbol emblazoned in his head knelt before the being he called 'God'.

"What is this?" A hollow, echoing voice demanded. Baba-Yaga, one of the first lieutenants of the half-Ascended Lord Anubis, sat upon his throne chair on the bridge of his mothership. After the powerful goa'uld had been destroyed by the Taur'i, the three lieutenants had scrambled to solidify their exalted positions in the hierarchy of System Lords. Osiris had been well prepared, and had spent her time placing her own loyal Jaffa into the ranks of her partners even while fulfilling the wishes of Anubis. They had attacked the moment she had declared war, quickly defeating Ammit, and the only reason he himself was not dead now was because he hand-picked his personal guards from his own camps. When it was over, he and Osiris had declared a truce, divided up the armada and territories and went their separate ways to bolster their positions before trying again.

"My Lord, we found this creature entombed in a windowless and doorless stone building. Reports told that the warriors of this planet were told to abandon their positions by their leaders in order to secure this one prisoner."

"Is that so?" Baba-Yaga was intrigued.

"Yes, my Lord. We defeated the warriors and blasted through the stone wall."

The Goa'uld said nothing as it studied the creature being flanked by two other Jaffa warriors. It had deep golden skin and crimson eyes. It was hairless and there was a raised crown-like ridge around it's forehead. There were no ears and only two slits in the face indicated nostrils. There were long, thin locks of hair hanging from over it's eyes and Baba-Yaga could see sharply pointed teeth as the creature smirked insolently at him.

"What manner of creature are you?" He demanded. "And why were you so important that those here would rather perish than risk your escape?"

The creature did not answer him as it studied it's surroundings curiously. Furious at being ignored, Baba-Yaga jumped to his feet and strode the distance between them to stand imperiously before it. "You will answer your God!"

Now the creature focused on him, but the response was not what he expected. The creature laughed.

"You, a God?" It said, amused. It's voice was deep, but with a decided feminine quality to it that made it sound both alluring and frightening at the same time, and the Goa'uld had the sudden urge to bow his head in submission. An urge that he barely suppressed, and that infuriated him almost as much as the creature's next words. "You are no God. You are nothing more than an insect. You reek of the vermin that banished me from my kingdom."

Enraged at its words and the fear that it inspired, Baba-Yaga unleashed a blast from his ribbon device directly at the creature's chest. The Jaffa flanking the creature were thrown back into a wall five feet away, but the creature merely stumbled a few steps before straightening.

"Is this the most that you have become after all of this time?" It asked, still amused.

"What are you?" The Goa'uld demanded, now more than a little frightened.

"I am Karthila, of the Nine." The creature answered. "We held dominion over this dimension long before your existence."

Baba-Yaga blinked as his body jerked in fear without his permission. Looking inward, the Goa'uld discovered a deeply rooted genetic fear of this creature's identity. There were no memories of Its face, existence or name, but the host was terrified of it all the same. A terror so deep that it penetrated three centuries of suppression. Even more disturbing, he felt his own recognition of the name, although knew that he had never heard the name before. Returning his attention outwards, he looked to his First Prime.

"Take it to the laboratories." He ordered. "Have the scientists take this thing apart and tell me what it is. Have the leaders of this world brought before me."

"Yes, my Lord." The First Prime responded. He was shaken by what he had just witnessed, but was wise enough to hide it.

Several hours later, three men were bought battered and bloody to stand before the throne chair. Baba-Yaga looked at them curiously. He had spent the time thinking about his new prisoner. His scientists had informed him that all efforts to study the creature had failed because none of their devices could cut through it's skin. It was impervious to shots from the Zat'nikels and staff blasts healed in mere moments. Through it all, the creature remained highly amused, and it was this that disturbed Baba-Yaga the most.

"You are the leaders of this world?" He questioned. One of the men nodded shakily. "I am your God, and you _will_ bow before me."

They did not respond, but the Goa'uld could feel their fear, and it pleased him.

"I have the creature that you kept imprisoned in the stone building." His brow rose as they began sweating and shaking in fear. This, he did not like. It would not do for this creature, bound in manacles and in no way a danger, to inspire more fear than he at it's mere mention. "Tell me of this creature."

"You have doomed us all." One of the men replied, eyes wild with terror. "You are not our God. She was once our God. We brought her back into this dimension to serve at her feet, but she turned on us, killed us."

"She was your prisoner, and now she is mine." The Goa'uld said, satisfied.

"You cannot hold her." Said another. There was defeat and resignation in his voice. "The manacles restrict her form and limit her power, but it was the runes of power that were written in the stones that entrapped her. "She is freed now, and she will not rest until all of mankind is destroyed. We know not who you are, but we beg you to kill us now. Better it be at your hands than hers."

"Tell me of this creature!" Baba-Yaga demanded again. "Tell me this instant, or I will rip the knowledge from your minds!"

The third man stared back him, cold and assessing. "You think threats will sway us. We are dead whether you kill us or not. Pain is the least of our worries. However, I will tell you what you wish to know, if only so that you will realize what you have done."

Baba-Yaga studied the man with narrowed eyes. Finally, he rose from his chair. "You will come with me. Put the others in the cell next to our 'guest'. Maybe some time together will make them more 'cooperative'."

The Jaffa saluted and took the men away, one screaming and the other with his head bowed and shoulders slumped.

- - - BtVS - - SG: 1 - - -

"You saw as I saw, Torfin!" A young man said, looking around to make sure they were not overheard. "The people of this world are more afraid of this creature than they are of our God. Even the creature does not fear Lord Baba-Yaga. Our Lord's power barely affected it. All I am asking is if there could be any relevance to what the Shol'va has been preaching all this time?"

"I will not listen to this!" The golden marked First Prime snarled, striking the other man with a vicious backhand. "It is blasphemy, Damir, and if you were not my brother, I would kill you where you stand."


	28. Chapter TwentySeven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Giles sat back in his chair as he contemplated what he had just been told of Buffy and Willow's training. In the month that they had been with the Coven, his slayer called him faithfully once a week, telling him of the amazing things that she and her best friend were suddenly capable of. Bridget was kind enough to send him more detailed reports of their progress, and if he was to be completely honest with himself, he was dreadfully worried. He was worried about what this sudden evolution of power would do to the girls that he still considered daughters despite their problems, and Willow who was already questionable with the power that she previously had. He had convinced Sam and the others _not_ to tell Buffy and Willow of the prophecy until they had complete control of their new powers.

Since the incident when Willow was taken, their powers had grown almost exponentially. Bridget had uneasily admitted that their power appeared virtually limitless. There was almost nothing it seemed that they could not do. Their shared specialty, however, seemed to be the manipulation of time and space. Discussions with the Old One called Illyria told him that almost all demons at her level and above developed that particular ability. Bridget had witnessed them cause a flower at full bloom to revert back into a seed. Keeping her and her aides protected, they had frozen time all over the estate and they walked through the grounds. People were frozen mid-step, they scattered unmoving rain outside, and smoke from casting inside. It was like nothing that Bridget had ever seen.

Lately, Bridget had focused their training on control. They had so much power that she was almost desperate to emphasize how important it was that they knew the limits of their control, so that they would not be consumed like they had been in Nevada. The Emissary said that their very humanity would keep them grounded despite their power, and she was aware that those had been more than extenuating circumstances, but Bridget wanted to be sure that they knew exactly what they were capable of if they lost control again.

Regardless of her new abilities, it quickly became obvious that Buffy still relied heavily on her physical strengths, despite the fact that, at least here on Earth, it was doubtful that there were many, if any, creatures that could match her for any length of time. Her physical strength and speed were such that sparring was useless. Bridget estimated that to give her even an adequate workout, Buffy would have to take on several military companies.

While Buffy still preferred to 'get her hands dirty', so to speak, Willow's magical abilities were more powerful than ever before. Bridget quickly discovered that Willow no longer needed to cast or use spell-books; she simply _willed_ it to happen. As evidenced back at the bunker where she had been tortured, she could destroy or kill with a mere thought. Thank the Goddess, she also protected and created with equal ease.

In her report, Bridget admitted that she didn't know what the Slayer and the Witch would be facing, but she was truly and deeply frightened.

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

Karthila looked around the strangeness of the room as she considered her options. She allowed her captors to think her subdued as she listened to all that was spoken around her. She paid no attention to the 'tests' that they were attempting to perform. What would have been agonizingly painful to others did not even register to her.

_So my brother's minions have risen to power, and were ejected from the world as we were,_ she mused. _Now that they have gathered some meager power from other sources, they seek to claim a dominion that was never theirs._

Her face twitched in irritation as the fool standing over her broke yet another instrument on her shell.

_They have obviously forgotten their place as much as the muck that they wear as shells_, she thought angrily. _If I recall correctly, my brother swallowed them whole to absorb their knowledge. It shall be a fitting tribute as they repay this indignity with their worthless lives._

She decided that she was done with this useless posturing. She had bided her time as she took in the initial information that she needed about the time that had passed since she had been imprisoned. Now, she could move forward, and return to the world that had somehow managed to defeat her. Effortlessly snapping her restraints, she sat up quickly and grabbed the 'scientist' before he even realized that he was in danger. With a mere clenching of her hand, she crushed his throat, watching dispassionately as he died. A moment later, she saw the parasitic minion peek out of the dead man's mouth, and she brought his face closer to her as it mindlessly sought a new host. Karthila felt it search desperately for something within her to attach and take over, and felt a cruel satisfaction at it's tortured screams as it died and was absorbed. She carefully studied her new knowledge even as she relished her freedom after an eternity of imprisonment.

Rising fluidly and soundlessly from the table, Karthila released her hold on her power. Everyone on the ship, from the human slaves to the Goa'uld Baba-Yaga, collapsed in terror as wave after wave of the darkest power imaginable washed over them. Ancient memories that they had deliberately forgotten resurfaced from the deepest depths of the subconscious of the Goa'uld on board.

"Master, I beg of you!" Baba-Yaga's screams echoed through the corridors. "Mercy!"

_'Mercy?'_ The answering voice sounded in everyone's mind, making them shudder in terror. _'What need have I of 'mercy'?'_

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

On the other side of the universe, in a solar system frozen due to a long dead sun, a lonely sound echoed on a relatively empty planet as a crack appeared in the thick ice wall blocking the opening of the last remaining source of warmth.

The surface hunters jerked to their feet as the loud sound scattered their prey. While the younger hunters took off after their escaping meat, the more experienced quickly turned their eyes to the mountains, hoping to the Spirits that the loudness did not cause a rain of ice to fall from the peaks.

- - - BtVS - - SG-1 - - -

In the Coven, Buffy and Willow awoke. Getting out of their bed, heedless of the English night chill, they walked through the halls, startling those who saw them, but speaking to no one.

"Mistress Bridget!" Alanna knocked frantically on the High Priestess' bedroom door. "You must come quickly!"

"Alanna, what is it?" Bridget grumbled sleepily after opening the door. "What could possibly be so important?"

"Buffy and Willow are in the courtyard." Alanna gasped. "They look as they did when we first found them."

Bridget quickly grabbed her robe and followed the younger woman. She found a small crowd in the courtyard surrounding the young women, including Sam and Janet, the young women, Dawn and Cassandra and the Old One, Illyria. "What has happened?"

"We don't know." Sam answered. "They haven't said anything."

Buffy and Willow stood staring at the heavens in opposite directions, even more changed than before. The amber of their eyes glowed brightly and their skin had taken on an almost burnished gold tint. Willow's hair had darkened to a deep burgundy. The sense of strength and will radiating from Buffy's petite form was almost overwhelming. They stared upwards, past the stars and suns and the empty expanse of space, to the next combatants of the Endless Battle.

_"One comes."_ Buffy stated, looking to the North.

_"The Other stirs."_ Willow immediately responded, looking to the South.

Samantha and the observers present looked at each other in bewilderment, before looking towards Illyria, the sole being there that showed any understanding of what had been said.

Illyria turned towards Sam, and answered the question she knew was on the tip of her tongue, "They are speaking in their primary tongue."

"That's not any language that I've ever heard." Janet denied.

The Old One curled her lip in disdain, "I do not mean _your_ tongue, but _their_ tongue, the language of the Nine. The language that _all_ other demonic languages were derived from."

Bridget nervously cleared her throat, and looked at her oblivious students before asking, "What did they say, Old One?"

Illyria turned her attention back to the two young women that were now the essence of Neutrality even as she answered, "They can feel their counterparts. One is stirring in their slumber, and the other is already on the move."

Sam's eyes drifted up, unease slithering down her spine with icy fingers. They had followed Giles' advice and not told the girls about the prophecy. She didn't know what was happening to her daughter and her 'mate', but she knew that it couldn't be good. She was worried about what was coming, but she was worried about her girls more.

End of Book 1

Hey there, guys! Yes, this was supposed to be just one book, but we had so many good ideas to work with, that we decided to break it up. That's one thing both of us have in common, and why we are constantly barricading ourselves in our computer rooms! We'll see how much of the story, and in how many books, we can squeeze out before our brains hemorrhage.


End file.
